No. The law doesn’t allow a landlord to require children to be supervised when outside unless there is a compelling reason to justify such. A “compelling reason” is not something trivial such as the landlord’s desire for peace and quiet, or that he does not want children running around unattended. Rather, a compelling reason is situation where the child would be in imminent danger if he wasn’t supervised, such as requiring supervision of young children in a pool. Otherwise, the landlord cannot require supervision of kids. The reality is that some landlords demand that children be supervised (even teenagers) because it’s their way to keep kids out of the common areas, thus ensuring a peaceful and quiet complex. This is not allowed. As one particular court noted, “Common sense also dictates parents are responsible for supervising the activities of their young children without the need for a written rule. Just as one who enters a national forest does not require a written rule stating it is unlawful to start a forest fire or one entering the Redwood forest does not require a written rule about cutting the old growth, neither does a parent need to be instructed by apartment rules not to leave a young child unsupervised.”

As such, a parent is free to allow their children to play outside unsupervised even if the landlord doesn’t think this is good parenting. With this in mind, it is illegal for a landlord to require children to be supervised while playing in the common areas because a child “might” wonder off or fall and hurt themselves. Unless the danger is clearly real and obvious, then a landlord cannot require supervision of a child. A landlord’s fear of “liability” or concern that a child might get hurt if unsupervised is not legal grounds to permit him to require tenants to supervise their children. The landlord must leave such decisions to the parent. As one court has noted, “Safety judgments are for informed parents to make, not landlords.” One particular court found that a rule which stated “Children on the premises are to be supervised by a responsible adult at all times” resulted in “explicit” discrimination against children.

No and yes. No, you cannot be evicted if your kids make normal kid noises during normal hours (usually between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.). It is perfectly okay for kids to run, laugh, giggle, and make some noise inside and outside of their apartment.  One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws.  In short, children are allowed to laugh, play, run outside, and make noise.  You cannot be evicted for letting them do so.  Moreover, a landlord cannot silence such behavior simply because other tenants don’t like the noise, or claim that it interferes with their daytime sleep.   If a landlord tries to evict you for having let your children play, then please contact us.   We can help you.

On the other hand, you can be evicted if your kids make unusually loud noises at odd hours. Your landlord cannot ask your kids to be quiet at all times. However, you can be evicted if your kids make unusually loud noises at odd hours, such as playing drums at 1 a.m. or turning on the stereo full blast at midnight.  Common sense dictates when noise is unreasonably loud.

You will be relieved to know that the law will not require you to abide by illegal apartment rules simply because you signed a lease agreeing to do so. A federal court recently addressed this very issued, and ruled that “a tenant cannot contract away his or her rights under the Fair Housing Act.”  In other words, you are not bound to follow the rules of a lease simply because you signed it. If an apartment rule violates the law, then tenants are NEVER required to abide by the rules even if they signed a lease agreeing to do so. An apartment rule is always illegal if it violates anti-discrimination laws. If the landlord tries to evict you for refusing to follow an illegal apartment rule, then he has committed housing discrimination.  As such, a rule which requires all children to be supervised in the common areas (other than the swimming pool) would clearly be illegal and would be unenforceable.  You would not be required to follow such a rule, even if you signed a lease agreeing to do so.  A landlord does not have the power to cancel fair housing laws.

Let’s make it more obvious with a clearer example. Assume that a tenant signs a lease and agrees to abide by an apartment rule that says, “No tenant in the complex may bring Mexican friends to the complex.” This rule would clearly be illegal and the law would never permit a landlord to enforce such a rule. The landlord cannot avoid the law by saying, “My tenant signed the lease and agreed to abide by this rule.” The tenant has no obligation to abide by this rule.  Likewise, since fair housing laws allow children to play outside, the landlord cannot take this right away by making the tenant sign a lease which does away with such right.

You will be relieved to know that the law will not require you to abide by illegal apartment rules simply because you signed a lease agreeing to do so. If an apartment rule violates the law, then tenants are NEVER required to abide by the rules even if they signed a lease agreeing to do so. An apartment rule is always illegal if it violates anti-discrimination laws. Your landlord cannot take your rights away by forcing you to sign a lease that takes away such rights. Such a lease is unenforceable   If the landlord tries to evict you for refusing to follow an illegal apartment rule, then he has committed housing discrimination.
Let’s make it more obvious with a clearer example. Assume that a tenant signs a lease and agrees to abide by an apartment rule that says, “No tenant in the complex may bring Mexican friends to the complex.” This rule would clearly be illegal and the law would never permit a landlord to enforce such a rule. The landlord cannot avoid the law by saying, “My tenant signed the lease and agreed to abide by this rule.” The tenant has no obligation to abide by this rule.”

It is illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to a single parent or family with children. For example, a single woman applies to rent a one bedroom apartment with her six year old daughter. The landlord tells her that children have to have their own bedroom, so they cannot rent the one bedroom apartment. The landlord has just discriminated against this woman because of the fact that she had a child.

Another example, a landlord declines to rent an apartment to a single male, saying that he doesn’t want the rental to become a bachelor pad. The landlord prefers to rent to a family. The landlord has just discriminated against this man.

Another example, a landlord tells a family with children that he does not want to rent an upstairs apartment to them because children are too noisy when they live upstairs. This is illegal as a landlord cannot refuse to rent any portion of a complex to a family.
Another example, a landlord only permits families with children to live in a certain portion of the complex. This is illegal as a landlord cannot force families with children to live solely in a predetermined area. Families are permitted to live in any area of a complex, even if other tenants think that they will be noisy.

It is illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to a single parent or family with children. For example, a single woman applies to rent a one bedroom apartment with her six year old daughter. The landlord tells her that children have to have their own bedroom, so they cannot rent the one bedroom apartment. The landlord has just discriminated against this woman because of the fact that she had a child.

Another example, a landlord declines to rent an apartment to a single male, saying that he doesn’t want the rental to become a bachelor pad. The landlord prefers to rent to a family. The landlord has just discriminated against this man.

Another example, a landlord tells a family with children that he does not want to rent an upstairs apartment to them because children are too noisy when they live upstairs. This is illegal as a landlord cannot refuse to rent any portion of a complex to a family.
Another example, a landlord only permits families with children to live in a certain portion of the complex. This is illegal as a landlord cannot force families with children to live solely in a predetermined area. Families are permitted to live in any area of a complex, even if other tenants think that they will be noisy.

Example of Discrimination Because of Race or Color: An African American man sees a “for rent” sign out in front of an apartment complex. As such, he asks if he can see the apartment, but the manager tells him that the apartment was just rented. Two days later, the African American man again sees the same “for rent” sign out in front of an apartment complex, so he again asks if he can see the apartment, but the manager again tells him that the apartment was just rented. As a result, the African American man calls a white friend and asks him if he will pretend like he wants to rent the apartment. The white friend agrees, and goes over to the apartment. The white friend is told by the same manager that there is an available apartment for rent. The African American man has been the victim of unlawful racial discrimination in housing.

What if a tenant signs a lease that says that children cannot play outside of their apartment?

Is this legal? No. A “tenant’s rights” include the right to be free from discrimination against their kids. Unfortunately, tenants are illegally subjected to eviction by their landlord due to their race (racial discrimination) or due to the fact that they have children. In virtually every case, it is illegal for a landlord to penalize, give warning notices, or evict families due to the fact that their kids play outside, make noise, run, ride bikes, throw balls, or play with toys in the common area of the apartment or condominium rental property. This is true even if the parents signed a lease which promised that they would not let their children play outside at the apartment or condominium complex. A landlord can never require children to remain indoors even if the tenant signed a lease which agreed to this fact. Although an apartment complex may desire peace and quiet, it is unlawful to require families to force their children to remain inside to accomplish this end. Also, rules that target kids are almost always illegal, however, parents rarely hire an attorney to challenge such unlawful apartment rules. By the same token, a condominium association’s covenants, codes, and restrictions which place limits on children (e.g. a curfew or noise level aimed at kids) is illegal and unenforceable. As it stands, families of all races, African American (Black), Mexican (Hispanic), Asian, and Caucasian (White), are unfortunately being subject to apartment or condominium rules which require them to keep their minor son, daughter, nephew, niece, or grand kids inside or which refuse to allow these kids to play in a reasonable manner. This is not the appropriate life for a child, nor for his mother or father.

No. It is against federal law for a landlord to evict someone who has filed a lawsuit for discrimination. The courts will not allow a landlord to evict someone in retaliation for them having filed a discrimination lawsuit.  This is true even if you were to lose your lawsuit.  Courts want people to sue for discrimination without having to worry about what will happen if they lose the case.

By the same token, you cannot be evicted for simply complaining to your landlord about illegal rules.   If a landlord threatens to evict you for complaining about rules, then such a threat is illegal.  You have legal rights.  You do not have to live under these types of conditions.   You can do something about it.  If your landlord has threatened to evict you for complaining about apartment rules, then you need to contact us to assist you.   Don’t be paralyzed with fear.  Nothing will happen to you if you act.  The law is there to protect you, not hurt you.

No. A landlord cannot refuse to renew your lease simply because your kids are noisy or they play outside. Peace and quiet for the community does not allow the landlord to refuse to renew your lease. A failure to renew your lease is a violation of law.  One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws.

If your landlord says, “We’re not going to renew your lease because tenants are tired of all of the noise your kids make,” then this comment is illegal.  You have the right to refuse to move out under such circumstances.  One particular court found it illegal for a landlord to exclude children from an apartment complex because the landlord felt that children were “rowdier, noisier, more mischievous and more boisterous than adults.”   Simply put, your landlord cannot refuse to renew your lease simply because he’s tired of your kids.  That’s illegal.

No and yes. No, you cannot be evicted if your kids make normal kid noises during normal hours (usually between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.). It is perfectly okay for kids to run, laugh, giggle, and make some noise inside and outside of their apartment.  One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws. In short, children are allowed to laugh, play, run outside, and make noise. You cannot be evicted for letting them do so. Moreover, a landlord cannot silence such behavior simply because other tenants don’t like the noise, or claim that it interferes with their daytime sleep.  If a landlord tries to evict you for having let your children play, then please contact us.  We can help you.

On the other hand, you can be evicted if your kids make unusually loud noises at odd hours. Your landlord cannot ask your kids to be quiet at all times. However, you can be evicted if your kids make unusually loud noises at odd hours, such as playing drums at 1 a.m. or turning on the stereo full blast at midnight.  Common sense dictates when noise is unreasonably loud.

A landlord cannot require children to remain indoors. If a landlord requires a tenant to keep their children locked up indoors at all times, then this is illegal. A landlord may not penalize families who allow their children to play outdoors at the apartment complex. It is illegal for a landlord to claim that the peace and quiet of the tenants requires that children not play outside. Simply put, children are allowed to play outside and they may make reasonable noise while doing so. If a family is punished for their children acting like normal children (e.g. the kids aren’t lighting fire crackers or playing drums in the open courtyard), then this is illegal discrimination. One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws.

In short, Federal and state fair housing laws guarantee families the right to let their children play outside in common areas. Children are allowed to laugh, play, make noise, and run when playing outside.   A landlord cannot stop this, even if other tenants claim that it interferes with their daytime sleep, or that elderly tenants don’t like children running around making noise.  You are free to allow your children to play outside and you cannot be evicted for having done so.  Don’t live in fear.  The law is on your side.

No. Some landlords attempt to discriminate against children, however, they are afraid to draft rules that specifically single-out children. To make it appear that they are not specifically discriminating against children, they will draft rules that appear to be neutral. For example, rather than having a rule that says, “Children are not allowed to play in the common area” the rule, instead, will say, “Tenants are not allowed to play in the common area.” This makes it appear that the rule is not specifically aimed at kids, as it is written so that it applies to all residents. In most cases, this is an attempt to hide the fact that the landlord is actually trying to prevent children from playing. Fortunately, Court’s don’t look at the specific words used in a rule, but, rather, look to see whether the rule disproportionately affects children. If a rule disproportionately affects children when applied, then it is considered to be discriminatory. For example, a rule that says, “No resident can play outside” would be discriminatory since children would be the group that is primarily affected by this rule.  Likewise, a rule that states, “the common areas are only to be used for ingress and egress from your apartment and nothing else,” would clearly discriminate against children, as it would prevent them from playing outside.

Courts are wise to the fact that landlords use various tricks to hide the fact that they don’t want children to play outside.   A rule does not become legal simply because the landlord has not expressly indicated that the rule applies to the children of the complex.  Any rule that stops children from playing is illegal, no matter how neutral the rule may look on paper.

No. Every business in the country is fearful of these two things, but that does not mean that it can run roughshod over a person’s legal rights. By the same token, federal and state fair housing laws expressly protect the rights of families and children to be free from discrimination against children. By law, children are allowed to play outside just so long as there isn’t a compelling reason that would require supervision. A landlord’s personal fear of liability does not qualify as a compelling reason that would allow him to usurp a family’s federal and state fair housing rights. A compelling reason usually deals with a true, dangerous situation if the child is left alone, such as small children swimming in a pool unattended. If the landlord truly has a legitimate safety concern that he is trying to address, then he must take careful precautions to narrowly tailor a rule that will deal very specifically with a limited problem. For example, if the landlord is worried about young children drowning in the pool, then it is perfectly okay to have a rule that says, “Children under 14 must be supervised while swimming.” However, the landlord goes too far if, in an effort to solve this problem, he creates a rule that says, “No children are allowed to play outside at any time.” Yes, this would also solve the problem, but the rule is too broad.

One court summed it up perfectly, when it ruled as follows: “Concerns that children will get hurt while playing outside, be it nicks, scratches, bumps or bruises, have been concerns dogging parents since the dawn of time.  Were such ever-present, generalized concerns deemed sufficient in and of themselves to justify outdoor use restrictions to an apartment complex, there would be little place left that such a rule would not be considered valid.   In short, the mantra of child safety cannot and is not sufficient to justify a restriction.”

The reality is that some landlords simply don’t want children playing outside, so they come up with a vague justification for refusing to allow kids to play, namely, that playing isn’t allowed because they don’t want to get sued if the child gets hurt.  This is not a valid reason to refuse to let children play outside.  Your children are allowed to play outside.  The landlord cannot use fear of liability as an excuse to prevent your children from playing, or to require them to be supervised when playing.

It is a common misconception that an apartment complex is free to make rules regulating the conduct of children. This is false, yet it happens frequently. As one court has aptly noted, “Safety judgments are for informed parents to make, not landlords.”  In rare situations, apartments can make some limited rules against children. Absent the rare situation, it is illegal for apartments to have rules which prohibit children from playing outside, playing with toys, laughing, making noise, or having fun.  One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws.

It is always illegal for an apartment to have rules which state that children are not allowed to play, walk, sit, stand, or talk in the common areas. In other words, it is illegal to require children to stay indoors. This is true even if children cause noise.  The law realizes that children make noise and requires society to put up with this noise, provided that the children aren’t being unreasonably loud. For example, it would be okay for an apartment to prohibit children from playing drums or playing their radio very loudly. However, it would be illegal for an apartment to penalize children for laughing, talking loudly, or getting excited in public. Although a landlord may want a quiet complex, the law does not permit it. Rather, the law requires all complexes to accept reasonable noise from children. By the way, if a landlord threatens or attempts to evict a person because their children made reasonable noise, then this would be discrimination.

The only time that an apartment can make rules against children unless there is a compelling reason to justify such. A “compelling reason” is not something trivial such as the landlord’s desire for peace and quiet, or that he does not want children running around unattended. Rather, a compelling reason is situation where the child would be in imminent danger if he wasn’t supervised, such as requiring supervision of young children in a pool. Otherwise, the landlord cannot require supervision of kids. The reality is that some landlords demand that children be supervised (even teenagers) because it’s their way to keep kids out of the common areas, thus ensuring a peaceful and quiet complex. This is not allowed. As one particular court noted, “Common sense also dictates parents are responsible for supervising the activities of their young children without the need for a written rule. Just as one who enters a national forest does not require a written rule stating it is unlawful to start a forest fire or one entering the Redwood forest does not require a written rule about cutting the old growth, neither does a parent need to be instructed by apartment rules not to leave a young child unsupervised.”

In most cases, no. The Fair Housing Act states that it is unlawful for a landlord to make rules that attempt to control children.  Your landlord cannot make rules that unfairly affect families with children. For example, it is illegal for an apartment complex to have rules that prohibit children living upstairs, from swimming in the pool, from playing outside, from playing with toys, or rules that prohibit children from crying loudly. In short, any rule that singles out children may be considered illegal and discriminatory against families that have children.  One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws.

It is always illegal for an apartment to have rules which state that children are not allowed to play, walk, sit, stand, or talk in the common areas. In other words, it is illegal to require children to stay indoors. This is true even if children cause noise.  The law realizes that children make noise and requires society to put up with this noise, provided that the children aren’t being unreasonably loud. For example, it would be okay for an apartment to prohibit children from playing drums or playing their radio very loudly. However, it would be illegal for an apartment to penalize children for laughing, talking loudly, or getting excited in public. Although a landlord may want a quiet complex, the law does not permit it. Rather, the law requires all complexes to accept reasonable noise from children. By the way, if a landlord threatens or attempts to evict a person because their children made reasonable noise, then this would be discrimination.

The only time that an apartment can make rules against children unless there is a compelling reason to justify such. A “compelling reason” is not something trivial such as the landlord’s desire for peace and quiet, or that he does not want children running around unattended. Rather, a compelling reason is situation where the child would be in imminent danger if he wasn’t supervised, such as requiring supervision of young children in a pool. Otherwise, the landlord cannot require supervision of kids. The reality is that some landlords demand that children be supervised (even teenagers) because it’s their way to keep kids out of the common areas, thus ensuring a peaceful and quiet complex. This is not allowed. As one particular court noted, “Common sense also dictates parents are responsible for supervising the activities of their young children without the need for a written rule. Just as one who enters a national forest does not require a written rule stating it is unlawful to start a forest fire or one entering the Redwood forest does not require a written rule about cutting the old growth, neither does a parent need to be instructed by apartment rules not to leave a young child unsupervised.”

Yes. American laws protect all people who are in the United States, regardless of whether they are Americans. You do NOT have to be an American citizen to file a lawsuit for housing discrimination.