Downsizing to apartment

[nikkim]

I am currently renting a 2000 s.f. house with my husband and 3 kids (b 9, g 6, b 4). We hope to buy our own home again (had to sell in 2006 due to ARM disaster) but find it nearly impossible to save money with the amount we are paying for rent. We have decided to cram ourselves into a 2 bedroom apartment for six months, which will save us $500 a month. I am looking for any tips for organizing, storage, moving, packing and setting up a room in which 3 kids will be sharing (I have a bunkbed for older two). I also have a generous stockpile, but we will be getting a storage unit and having a massive garage sale. Any ideas???

TIA

Nikki

[Mothernature]

It is illegal to cram 5 people into a 2 bedroom. It violates HUD housing rules. Your landlord can remove you at any time.

Just be careful.

[Andra]

Is a two-bedroom really your only affordable option? I don't know about the laws, but IMHO it's unfair to make different-gendered kids share a bedroom. The boys can share, but your daughter needs her own room, again just my opinion. I would look for a three bedroom at least.

[whcanisay]

I think garage saleling or trying consume as much of your stash before you move is a good idea. Sorry you have to move into such a small space.

[magenta]

In previous generations, many families lived in homes far smaller than the one you're planning with far bigger families. It sounds to me like you're making a very wise decision for your family's future. And by doing it when the kids are so young, it can be an adventure for them, and you avoid the awkwardness that would come with older kids of opposite genders sharing the same room. As long as they're all under 12, I think having boys and girls sharing a room is fine. They don't know the difference at that age.

It is not illegal to have 5 people living in a two bedroom apartment. All the HUD rule says is that it is not illegal for a landlord, public or private, to refuse to rent a 2 bedroom apartment to a family of 5 if they choose; but the decision is up to the landlord. It is not illegal for you and the landlord to enter into a contract to rent a two bedroom apartment for your family. (See the Fair Housing Act for details.)

Unless you live in a public housing complex run by a government agency that has specific rules about such things (HUD does have such rules in some complexes it runs, as do many city agencies, but they do not have rules about complexes owned and operated by private landlords), or unless your lease has specific occupancy maximums, or unless your city has a maximum occupancy ordinance, you are free to live in any way you and your family wish.

Best of luck to you!

[derketchup]

It is illegal to cram 5 people into a 2 bedroom. It violates HUD housing rules. Your landlord can remove you at any time.

Just be careful.

It depends on local and state laws. In some areas, having boys and girls in the same bedroom is illegal.

[whcanisay]

The ages depend on the state. I think in KY it is illegal to have two children of different genders above the age 13 or so sharing the same room. Totally anecdotal, I am not sure. But may be worth checking in to.

[Mothernature]

It is not illegal to have 5 people living in a two bedroom apartment.

This is incorrect. I suggest you review the Keating Memo. This is the guidelines HUD uses for housing.

[supershopper1980]

I was watching this thing on TV about small spaces and I saw where they had 3 kids sharing a room. They had a set of bunk beds with a trundle under the lower one. I don't know if this would be possible with the type bunk bed you have, but I thought it might be worth sharing. It gave the floor space for playing during the day, but gave everyone their own bed at night.

[magenta]

This is incorrect. I suggest you review the Keating Memo. This is the guidelines HUD uses for housing.

I don't want to get overly technical here, but the Keating Memo establishes a (rebuttable) presumption that an occupancy standard of 2 persons per bedroom is reasonable under the Fair Housing Act. It does not make occupancy by more than two persons per bedroom illegal. These HUD rules are designed to determine whether landlords are discriminating against families during the rental process. All the rules say is that a landlord's policy declining to rent apartments in cases where more than two persons would share a single bedroom does not on face constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act's anti-discrimination rules with respect to familial status. The rules do not set a federal maximum occupancy standard. See HUD or the National Housing Law Project for more information.

I am not your attorney, and this does not constitute legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should consult an attorney in your jurisdiction. No one should take legal advice from strangers on the internet.