No one will allow our large family to rent!

[BrandieRose]

Hi ladies,

 

I'm hoping for some good rhetorical ideas. I've been trying to find a rental in Chicago for several weeks now. I've called hundreds of landlord and no one will rent to a family of seven, not even four bedroom duplexes. Chicago is too expensive for us to rent a house. If I tell them I have children right away, they will suddenly remember all the applications they already have and promise to call me back, and of course don't. I've tried to delay telling them, but then I end up losing my credit check and application fee money as soon as they find out about our little tribe. I've even tried bringing a couple of kids so they can ease into the idea and see how well behaved they are. I have been searching for a month and only have two weeks before my current lease is up.

 

Oh, and I know it's technically illegal for them to do this, but it is easy for them to get around. They simply don't contact me back until they find someone else and then say they are sorry but someone beat me to it.

 

Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Barb_]

Have you asked them just who they expect will be sleeping in the other three bedrooms? Sheesh.

 

You are worrying me. We are going to begin trying to find a three bedroom to live in part time in the same area. My husband moved to Evanston 18 months ago for work but we couldn't go along because we have a house here in Phoenix that we can't sell (we have over 100K invested and are still underwater by about 125K). We'd like to spend Spring and Summer out there and Fall and Winter back in Phoenix. This is not encouraging.

[Murphy101]

This is normal and typical. At MOST they will accept 2 ppl per bedroom. And most assume there will be one kid in each bedroom.

 

Laws might be different there, but it's not illegal here. The landlord can refuse to rent to you for lots of reasons, including the opinion that it would be too many occupants.

 

My only suggestion would be to get an inside to help. A friend of the landlord recommending you can go a long way.

[AK_Mom4]

One larger family I know in Colorado had best luck renting when they looked at properties that were being managed by a property management company. As long as the 2 people per bedroom math worked out, it seemed like the mngt company was more concerned with the credit check and references being good, rather than the number of children.

[DawnM]

I was going to suggest this as well.

 

I can't remember if anyone asked us how many kids we had, but they may have and I just don't remember.

 

We rented from a place that had townhouses and allowed us to go month to month as we were waiting for a house to sell and intended to move. They seemed more intent on making sure our credit scores were good and getting us in there than in our family size.

 

Dawn

 

One larger family I know in Colorado had best luck renting when they looked at properties that were being managed by a property management company. As long as the 2 people per bedroom math worked out, it seemed like the mngt company was more concerned with the credit check and references being good, rather than the number of children.

[readinmom]

A property management company is a good start. Maybe you could try local churches in the area? Many times they have leads on rentals, and the people might be more willing to work with you. Just a suggestion...

[Aelwydd]

I thought the rental market was good right now for renters, i.e., lots of inventory, thanks to the recession, and fewer renters, due to folks being unemployed and living with relatives, friends, etc.

 

Yet yours is one of a couple posts I've read on this board from families having problems finding a property to rent. I get that there are landlords that don't want kids or animals in their property; but all of them??

 

Maybe this has to do with a seeming trend of bad tenants several landlords here are complained about. I have no idea if this is a widespread thing or not. I'm a renter, myself.

 

It's not fair to the OP and families like hers, but I guess if landlords have been burned by previous destructive, non-paying tenants, that they would be a lot more discriminatory about future tenants.

[eloquacious]

(Sorry to hijack this, but I couldn't get a private message to Barb)

 

Barb: I'm not sure what sort of sale you're hoping to get, being upside-down, but my husband has just published an online guide to short sales in Arizona. He's a bit of an expert, he's taught classes all over the country and to hundreds of realtors in Arizona. Check this out http://azshortsaleexperts.com/ It might prove helpful in figuring out what your next steps with your realtor should be.

[BrandieRose]

You might be in a better position than we are since your kids are a little older. Plus your husband's work is already a little ways from the downtown, so you can plausibly live further away then we can.

[Murphy101]

Usually every person living in the home has to be listed as an occupant on the lease. Thus many applications ask who other than the lease holder will be living there, including children.

 

Usually it had nothing to do with being burned. It's a general opinion that children tend to be more destructive. So more children are viewEd as more destructive.

[Slartibartfast]

The rental market is bustling since many are avoiding or cannot purchase a new home atm.

 

We are moving to a new area and we chose to rent for a bit first since we do not know it well. My husband mentioned that every house he went to look at had several other people also looking at them and several were rented very quickly. He has also been frustrated with landlords not returning phone calls or responding to emails promptly.

 

He did finally find a rental and we are moving. We have two children, I don't know that it has to do with the number of children but that there are a LOT of people renting right now. Nothing decent is staying on the market very long.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I thought the rental market was good right now for renters, i.e., lots of inventory, thanks to the recession, and fewer renters, due to folks being unemployed and living with relatives, friends, etc.

 

Yet yours is one of a couple posts I've read on this board from families having problems finding a property to rent. I get that there are landlords that don't want kids or animals in their property; but all of them?

 

We are homeowners who just moved into a rental. Because we know we will only be here 2-3 years, we had no interest in buying. The rental market is extremely competitive while the buying market would have meant that the world was our oyster. I figure most of the people who went through foreclosure and have serious nicks in their credit because of that aren't buying. They are forced to rent. Supply and demand... Home prices are way down and rent is way up. We could have paid less per month had we purchased here but with no assurance of selling when we need to leave. Not worth it to us.

 

On top of it being a competitive rental market, we have a cat. Landlords apparently despise cats and about 2/3 of the houses we were considering were immediately ruled out because of her. Even the landlord at the house I am sitting at right now didn't want to take our cat but the only other offer at the time came from someone caught in a lie regarding credit. Lucky us! Still, we lost our favorite house because our application went in at the same time as a catless family (per our realtor).

[Alte Veste Academy]

The rental market is bustling since many are avoiding or cannot purchase a new home atm.

 

We are moving to a new area and we chose to rent for a bit first since we do not know it well. My husband mentioned that every house he went to look at had several other people also looking at them and several were rented very quickly. He has also been frustrated with landlords not returning phone calls or responding to emails promptly.

 

He did finally find a rental and we are moving. We have two children, I don't know that it has to do with the number of children but that there are a LOT of people renting right now. Nothing decent is staying on the market very long.

 

This was exactly our experience. Rentals were going like hotcakes. One night at about 10 pm, I bookmarked 4 to show DH and when I got to it at 10 am the next day, they were all gone.

 

OP, I would definitely investigate finding a sympathetic group of people who could put feelers out for you.

[sassenach]

Usually every person living in the home has to be listed as an occupant on the lease. Thus many applications ask who other than the lease holder will be living there, including children.

 

Usually it had nothing to do with being burned. It's a general opinion that children tend to be more destructive. So more children are viewEd as more destructive.

 

If I'm being honest, my children are harder on the house than our dogs. They track in more dirt, make dents in the walls ect.

 

We're renters who got lucky. Our LL took us with 4 kids and 2 dogs. That said, we pay through the nose for this place. He's making all sorts of dough off of us, and we're never late.

 

Best of luck to you. Sometimes it's helpful to secure a realtor to help you find a place to rent. We did that when we moved to New Orleans and only had 5 days to find a place. She was a gem.

[Danestress]

I was trying to help a friend here find a rental for her family of ten and was frequently told that there were local restrictions that would require five bedrooms for a family that size (but I never verified that). They did end up with five very small bedrooms.

 

So I am curious - is it illegal in Chicago to refuse to rent based on the number of people in the renting party/family?

Edited May 7, 2012 by Danestress

[crazyfordlr]

IDK about Chicago, but I do know here in CA the rule is 2 per room plus 1. So if you have a 2 bedroom, 5 people could live there. So in op's case a family of 10 would need at least a 5br here in CA.

[Aelwydd]

 

Usually it had nothing to do with being burned. It's a general opinion that children tend to be more destructive. So more children are viewEd as more destructive.

 

That's what I meant. A landlord has a tenant who doesn't take care of the property and moves out leaving thousands of dollars of work to do. So, that landlord decides he will just avoid any and all potential tenants that even hint of being destructive, regardless of whether or not that's a truly fair perception of some tenants.

[Rhonda in TX]

I would try using a real estate agent. We used one when we looked for a rental back when we got married. They might have better luck knowing where to look for that kind of rental.

[chicagoshannon]

Do you have to live in the city? Can you try the suburbs, specifically the south suburbs. You'll probably have more luck that way.

[Aelwydd]

If I'm being honest, my children are harder on the house than our dogs. They track in more dirt, make dents in the walls ect.

 

 

So what are families with several kids to do? Buy every time they move? That's extremely difficult with this economy.

 

 

This was exactly our experience. Rentals were going like hotcakes. One night at about 10 pm, I bookmarked 4 to show DH and when I got to it at 10 am the next day, they were all gone.

 

Must be some regional variation then. Here are both high numbers of available rentals and low-priced homes for sale. My sister and her family rent a 3 bedroom home for $1100 that they found and moved into just a few months ago. I think they were searching for only a week or so before they found it.

[JennifersLost]

I agree with the idea to contact a property mgmt company. I did this when I had three kids and needed a rental. I just came right out and said, "I'm having a problem I hope you can help me solve."

 

I told her the no. of kids, our income, how much we could afford to pay, and how we expected to leave the place better than when we moved in, etc. She immediately found us a rental.

 

It can't hurt!

[Melinda in VT]

So what are families with several kids to do? Buy every time they move? That's extremely difficult with this economy.

 

It is difficult. We were renters briefly during a move, and will likely be renters again at some point. Looking for a rental with kids can be frustrating.

 

On the other hand, we've also been landlords. We weren't rich; we were trying to start an investment that would hopefully pay for our kids' college, help with our retirement, etc. It made sense to make decisions within the parameters allowed by the law that would protect our investment, not irritate neighboring tenants, etc. We couldn't refuse based on children, but we could based on total number of occupants or pets, and we did.

 

Landlords do not have an obligation to provide housing for everyone who wants it or needs it, any more than companies are obligated to hire anyone looking for a job, restaurants to provide food for anyone who is hungry, etc.

[sassenach]

So what are families with several kids to do? Buy every time they move? That's extremely difficult with this economy.

 

 

Did you read the rest of my post? The part where I said that I'm a renter with 4 kids and 2 dogs? Believe me, I'm not unsympathetic to the situation.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Shannon831
@#*@ autocorrect

[mommaduck]

In one county in S. Illinois, they had a rule that there had to be 50sq ft of bedroom space per person; that includes 50sq ft for a newborn. It didn't matter that we knew how to use bunk beds or anything else. They also had rules in certain cities against multi-generational families renting. Basically, they wanted to run out anyone that could possibly be struggling, but doing what they had to to make ends meet. Only well off people with small families need apply type deal. We had one LL that fudged for us (she didn't tell us till we were moving out). It was a great situation there. We kept an eye out for her elderly aunt that lived in the other half of the duplex and we cleared the bushes and took care of the yards for her (the previous couple with no children refused to do the yard work, because it made them "too hot and sweaty").

[BrandieRose]

Thanks, ladies, for all the feedback. I am planning on calling some of the local churches for possible leads, but we're beginning to realize my husband's probably just going to have a long commute to the suburbs.

 

As far as legality goes, a realtor told me landlords in Chicago are not allowed to ask about family size. I never verified it, though.

 

Thanks again!

[Jpoy85]

We sort of have that issue too. We have DH, I, 2 DDs, DS, 4 dogs and 2 cats. Its hard to find somewhere to rent!! REALLY HARD! We are all cramped in a 1bdrm right now because it was cheap. We found a different place, hopefully we can move next month, but the landlord said he was a bit leery because of all the dogs and people. Luckily hes a friend, so hes offering some wiggle, but otherwise, wed have an awful time!! :glare:

 

ETA: as far as the legality of family size, asking etc... Here in OH, on the application they ask for who all will live there and they require a credit check/background (for the GOOD apartments) for anyone over 18. Theres no way around it. Then they have places like where we are, where as long as you have the rent money in cash, they could care less if you fill the place from top to bottom.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Jpoy85

[AnaShoo]

4 dogs and 2 cats..

 

 

So, after reading through this whole thread (we'll be moving twice this year, so you all have me worried now!), I am wondering if the main issue is kids AND pets, not so much kids? Although, yes, I get that the whole person-to-a-bedroom issue is there, too.

[Jpoy85]

So, after reading through this whole thread (we'll be moving twice this year, so you all have me worried now!), I am wondering if the main issue is kids AND pets, not so much kids? Although, yes, I get that the whole person-to-a-bedroom issue is there, too.

 

If we were to go out tomorrow and try to rent a 2bdrm apartment up the road, this is what would happen:

 

They have both Dh and I fill out an application so they could run a background/credit check on us. Then theyd have us list the kids. Then theyd ASK us about pets, wed have to be honest because theres no way to hide that you have 4 dogs. Then theyd tell us:

 

1) they dont take dogs over 30llbs

2) they only have a 2 dog limit

3) they dont allow dogs at all, but allow cats

 

IF they did let us have dogs/cats, wed pay extra a month. Up to $100 extra if not more. (right now we pay an extra $25 a month). If it was a GOOD apartment, theyd let the kids issue pass, theyd focus more on the pets. If we were renting a house, it wouldnt be an issue at all-- pets or kids. I dont know, the rules are somehow different. We have rented a house before.

 

The only reason my friend who is renting to us next month is leery is because its a lot to stick in a 2bdrm and he wants GOOD tenants, not people who will trash the place, etc. He doesnt care about dogs or amount, he just thinks it alot to squeeze in an apartment. However, right now in a 1bdrm its tight. We all share a bedroom, 2 dogs are in the kitchen, 2 dogs are in the hall and the cats have their stuff in the bathroom.

 

** The issue with pets is when it comes to places/landlord/tenants like the place we currently live in:

You know people live here and have dogs, but you NEVER see them outside. NEVER. You can smell the dog feces and cat litter from outside their apartment doors. The Landlord wont even go in some apartments because there is actually dog poop stuck on the hardwood floors. One apartment upstairs when they moved out-- he actually needed a SHOVEL to get the poop out. They only JUST started adding the $25 to those with pets because the poop issue outside is so bad- people dont pick up their dogs poop and then the people that mow the lawn couldnt mow the lawn and kids couldnt play in the field.

The ONLY reason no one is evicted is because the landlord is a slum lord and shes only out for money and most people who live here get a check and its guaranteed rent (im sorry to say that and i dont mean anything bad to those that get a disability/security check). This building and its chaos is why MOST landlords take Pets into consideration before the amount of people. They dont care about crayons on the wall- they care more about shoveling poop out and getting the feces smell out!

[Slartibartfast]

So, after reading through this whole thread (we'll be moving twice this year, so you all have me worried now!), I am wondering if the main issue is kids AND pets, not so much kids? Although, yes, I get that the whole person-to-a-bedroom issue is there, too.

 

The OP didn't mention pets

[angela in ohio]

It is illegal to refuse rental based on having children. I would think that a landlord would be able to set a maximum number of people per unit, though, and that doesn't have anything to do wtih whether they are children or not.

[SkateLeft]

Yet yours is one of a couple posts I've read on this board from families having problems finding a property to rent. I get that there are landlords that don't want kids or animals in their property; but all of them??

 

It's not all landlords. :D

 

We have a 5 bedroom house in California that we happily rent to a large family with a dog. They've been great tenants. We have no issue with kids or pets. We have a property manager who screens tenants for us, but family size is just not even an issue.

 

We wouldn't allow four dogs because it exceeds city regulations. I'm not sure if that's a case in other areas.

 

I hope you find something that fits your needs!

[Jpoy85]

It's not all landlords. :D

 

We have a 5 bedroom house in California that we happily rent to a large family with a dog. They've been great tenants. We have no issue with kids or pets. We have a property manager who screens tenants for us, but family size is just not even an issue.

 

We wouldn't allow four dogs because it exceeds city regulations. I'm not sure if that's a case in other areas.

 

I hope you find something that fits your needs!

 

You are right, not all of the landlords have issues, they just have rules for what they allow.

[KristinaBreece]

However, right now in a 1bdrm its tight.

 

How did you get more than 2 people into a 1 bedroom in Ohio? I couldn't even get anyone to take my applications for a 1 bedroom, because they said the law is 2 bodies to a bedroom.

[Jpoy85]

How did you get more than 2 people into a 1 bedroom in Ohio? I couldn't even get anyone to take my applications for a 1 bedroom, because they said the law is 2 bodies to a bedroom.

 

see my previous post about my situation. The landlord cares about nothing but getting rent and thats it.

 

ETA: Do you know if theres a way to see the law?

I found this: http://www.willislawohio.com/Occupancy_news.htm

Fair housing laws passed in 1989 state that landlords cannot discriminate against families with children. If a landlord sets an occupancy rate, it must be "reasonable," according to housing laws. Generally, a two person per bedroom rate is considered reasonable, Willis said. He suggests landlords use that as their occupancy limit and that they list them in the rules for the rental unit. The occupancy standard for the Department of Housing and Urban Development also is two per bedroom......State law doesn't come into play with rental occupancy rates. Although attempts have been made to establish a two person per bedroom law, the Ohio legislature has never passed the proposal.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Jpoy85

[Amy in NH]

The Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, is known as the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in any type of housing related transaction on the basis of:

 

Race

Color

Religion

National Origin

Gender

Disability

Familial Status (the presence of children under the age of 18 in the household)

 

"May landlords refuse to rent to families with children?

 

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against families with children. The landlord must rent to anyone, regardless of whether they are married, single, or have children. The only restrictions that may be placed are those that apply to everyone. For example, the number of occupants per unit may be limited. The major exception to this law is complexes intended for seniors. If a complex has 80% or more units occupied by at least one person over age 55, it is not required to accept children. On a related note, just because apartments cannot discriminate against families with children does not mean they cannot insist that the children keep quiet."

 

http://www.peopleslawyer.net/legal-topics/landlord-tenant-law-general.html

[A.Balaban]

We have the same issue, and we do not have the same number of people in our family.

 

We are looking for a 2-3 bedroom. When I call a 2 bedroom place a lot of times they tell me "No" because of the kids (they say the bedrooms are too small-- I usually tell them I would like to look at it anyway because my kids room right now is a cracker box). We looked at a place last week. I had my two kids with me. It was a second story place and the kids were running around/playing (because they are kids) while i talked with the landlord. He looked at me and said: "I can't have them running around up here it will disturb the tenants below." :glare: So that was a waste of time.

 

Currently we are waiting for 2 call-backs. I doubt I will hear back from either place (and one of the places we really want!) We have been trying to find an apartment for almost two years now and still no luck. No one will rent to us... For this reason, we refuse to pay an application fee. If they require an application fee, we leave. Otherwise we would have lost hundreds of dollars for nothing.

[Jpoy85]

We have the same issue, and we do not have the same number of people in our family.

 

We are looking for a 2-3 bedroom. When I call a 2 bedroom place a lot of times they tell me "No" because of the kids (they say the bedrooms are too small-- I usually tell them I would like to look at it anyway because my kids room right now is a cracker box). We looked at a place last week. I had my two kids with me. It was a second story place and the kids were running around/playing (because they are kids) while i talked with the landlord. He looked at me and said: "I can't have them running around up here it will disturb the tenants below." :glare: So that was a waste of time.

 

Currently we are waiting for 2 call-backs. I doubt I will hear back from either place (and one of the places we really want!) We have been trying to find an apartment for almost two years now and still no luck. No one will rent to us... For this reason, we refuse to pay an application fee. If they require an application fee, we leave. Otherwise we would have lost hundreds of dollars for nothing.

 

I wonder if maybe you could get a letter from your current landlord about how well behaved your children are. Ex: You dont let them just run around, they dont throw candy wrappers around, they dont run the halls, no crayon on the walls, no jumping all over the floor all hours of the day and night. I mean, it couldnt hurt to try.

I cant really do that with my dog situation... but I would if my children might be an issue. ;)

[weddell]

We have a house in Skokie (North Chicago suburb right next to Evanston) that we have had to rent out last year and this coming year while we are out of the country. Our tenants' lease ends this month and they just told us two weeks ago that they aren't renewing (they are moving to another suburb). We listed the house for rent again had several showings and applications within days. And we had raised the rent. I think the rental market is tight in the Northshore area.

[littlebug42]

The Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, is known as the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in any type of housing related transaction on the basis of:

 

Race

Color

Religion

National Origin

Gender

Disability

Familial Status (the presence of children under the age of 18 in the household)

 

"May landlords refuse to rent to families with children?

 

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against families with children. The landlord must rent to anyone, regardless of whether they are married, single, or have children. The only restrictions that may be placed are those that apply to everyone. For example, the number of occupants per unit may be limited. The major exception to this law is complexes intended for seniors. If a complex has 80% or more units occupied by at least one person over age 55, it is not required to accept children. On a related note, just because apartments cannot discriminate against families with children does not mean they cannot insist that the children keep quiet."

 

http://www.peopleslawyer.net/legal-topics/landlord-tenant-law-general.html

 

There is a small loophole to this law though called Mrs. Murphy's law. In it, if a landlord owns fewer than 4 rental units, they are exempt from this law. If they have fewer than 4, they can rent to whoever they want with whatever conditions they choose to set. This can include not renting to families. This is why it is usually advisable in situations such as these to go with larger management companies etc because they are bound by fair housing laws and face stiff penalties if they do not comply.

[Barb_]

We have a house in Skokie (North Chicago suburb right next to Evanston) that we have had to rent out last year and this coming year while we are out of the country. Our tenants' lease ends this month and they just told us two weeks ago that they aren't renewing (they are moving to another suburb). We listed the house for rent again had several showings and applications within days. And we had raised the rent. I think the rental market is tight in the Northshore area.

 

Yes, I'm finding this to be the case. Rich's lease isn't even up until December, but we're scouting the area to see what sorts of apartments are available this time of year. It is incredible how quickly they are posting and then disappearing. Particularly close to Northwestern.

[Murphy101]

We sort of have that issue too. We have DH, I, 2 DDs, DS, 4 dogs and 2 cats. Its hard to find somewhere to rent!! REALLY HARD! We are all cramped in a 1bdrm right now because it was cheap. We found a different place, hopefully we can move next month, but the landlord said he was a bit leery because of all the dogs and people. Luckily hes a friend, so hes offering some wiggle, but otherwise, wed have an awful time!! :glare:

 

ETA: as far as the legality of family size, asking etc... Here in OH, on the application they ask for who all will live there and they require a credit check/background (for the GOOD apartments) for anyone over 18. Theres no way around it. Then they have places like where we are, where as long as you have the rent money in cash, they could care less if you fill the place from top to bottom.

 

There is absolutely no way I would keep the pets in that situation.

 

It's hard to find rental property that will accept any pet, much less numerous.

[Barb_]

(Sorry to hijack this, but I couldn't get a private message to Barb)

 

Barb: I'm not sure what sort of sale you're hoping to get, being upside-down, but my husband has just published an online guide to short sales in Arizona. He's a bit of an expert, he's taught classes all over the country and to hundreds of realtors in Arizona. Check this out http://azshortsaleexperts.com/ It might prove helpful in figuring out what your next steps with your realtor should be.

 

Thanks for letting my know my box is full. I'll go clean it out.

 

We aren't going to short it...our life savings is in this house. Obviously that is worth exactly nothing right now, but I figure if we hang around long enough we're bound to turn right side up if for no other reason that we pay the durned thing off. Here's the other thing: we have 7 kids and have lived in 9 houses/apartments in 6 states since our oldest was born. Our last 5 kids were each born in a different state. This house is the only house where *all* of our kids have memories. Our last one was born upstairs and this was the last house our oldest lived in before moving out. It's a nice size in a nice location with a nice yard and nice neighbors, so this is the house I can see us coming back to once we retire and need a place to house the grandkids at Christmas. It's tough for many people to understand how we've chosen to remain separated for the last two years rather than walking away from the house, but we're in our mid-40's and aren't keen on trying to start over. Besides, after moving around so much, we really need to call a place "home."

 

PS and ETA: I just realized...I think I have one of your postcards in a drawer in my kitchen in case we change our minds, LOL

[JohannaM]

I don't know if I'm confusing the OP with someone else, but if your DH is working in Evanston, try going several towns north on the rail line. The market might not be as competitive farther away.

[Jpoy85]

There is absolutely no way I would keep the pets in that situation.

 

It's hard to find rental property that will accept any pet, much less numerous.

 

Getting rid of any of my dogs is not an option. The cats, well they are DHs. The dogs are family members here and not just dogs. They have been through quite a lot with me and I dont plan on them going anywhere. Id rather have a hard time finding a place and live in a place like we are currently in than give up my dogs. We have a roof over our heads and for that im thankful. We do have trouble finding places, we have managed so far in the 3yrs weve had the dogs.

[Quiver0f10]

I recommend trying to rent through a person rather than a real estate office or property manager. Try at your church, home school group and yes, even craigs list.

[Barb_]

I don't know if I'm confusing the OP with someone else, but if your DH is working in Evanston, try going several towns north on the rail line. The market might not be as competitive farther away.

 

Unfortunately that isn't an option. We will only be there for half a year and he doesn't own a car. We sold it to afford the cost of his plane tickets back and forth. So he needs to live close to the bus line so he can get to work in the winter. But thanks for the thought.

[Barb_]

I've tried to delay telling them, but then I end up losing my credit check and application fee money as soon as they find out about our little tribe.

 

You know, how exactly are they doing this? Once they have your application fee and have checked your credit, how are they getting out of renting to you? What is the excuse? Is there a small ding on your credit that allows them to worm out of it? Or do they just stop contacting you? I think I'd try to avoid telling them about the children until it's time to list occupants. How old are your kids?

 

Also, I think they are legally required to give you a reason, in writing, as to why you have been denied.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Barb F. PA in AZ

[Murphy101]

You know, how exactly are they doing this? Once they have your application fee and have checked your credit, how are they getting out of renting to you? What is the excuse? Is there a small ding on your credit that allows them to worm out of it? Or do they just stop contacting you? I think I'd try to avoid telling them about the children until it's time to list occupants. How old are your kids?

 

Also, I think they are legally required to give you a reason, in writing, as to why you have been denied.

 

Here, they only have to give you a reason for denial if the reason is credit related. Then they have to list which credit resource they used to base that denial upon.

 

Otherwise, no they don't have to ever call you back, much less explain why.

 

Also, as several other posters previously noted, it is perfectly legal to refuse based on number of occupants and or animals.

[AngelBee]

I chatted with a landlord for an hour about renting her home.

 

Cat...no problem!

 

100lb black lab.....no issue! Have as many pets and dogs as you would like!

 

Seven kids.....uncomfortable silence. Going to talk to her husband. Made a couple calls to her after that. She never returned any of them. :(

[mommaduck]

I chatted with a landlord for an hour about renting her home.

 

Cat...no problem!

 

100lb black lab.....no issue! Have as many pets and dogs as you would like!

 

Seven kids.....uncomfortable silence. Going to talk to her husband. Made a couple calls to her after that. She never returned any of them. :(

It all depends upon where you live. In the midwest, people were not very open to large families renting. Here on the east coast, PA, people seem much more open to it and we have never been turned down over it (there are MANY large families here).