ZONING: FOUR PERSON LIMIT FOR HOUSES

Unrelated people who choose to live together may encounter problems if more than 4 people are in the group.  If you rent a whole house, that is single family housing. 

Zoning laws for "single family housing" define a single family as any number of people related by direct lineal descent (grandparent, parent, child, sibling only - no cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.), or by adoption, marriage, foster child/parent relationship or domestic partnership living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit.   A single family may not live with more than three additional unrelated people.  If none of you are related, one of you is the "family" and the total number of people you may have in your house is 4.  If you have more than 4 unrelated  tenants and rent a single family house, you could face serious problems. 

EXCEPTIONS:  If the house is legally zoned as a "rooming house" you may have more than 4 unrelated occupants.  In Champaign, east of Neil Street near the U of I campus, the zoning allows rooming houses.  However, in Urbana, near U of I campus, zoning is different and most houses are NOT legal rooming houses.  Scroll down for a list of addresses for legal rooming houses in Urbana. 

In 2007, the City of Urbana started routine inspection of rental houses for code violations.   A zoning violation of more than 4 unrelated people can be discovered during these inspections. If an over-occupancy is discovered, the city will require all but 4 unrelated people to move out of the house. You can be fined and sued by the city for violating zoning laws if the extra people refuse to move out.

If some of your roommates are forced to move out, will your rent be reduced? Not if you let the landlord trick you into putting only four names on the lease. Then four of you will have to pay the rent that you thought all six of you would be sharing.

If you are even considering renting a house with more than 4 unrelated people, consult with the Tenant Union. Unfortunately, many landlords who wish to rent houses in violation of zoning laws will lie to prospective tenants -- or propose having two leases for one house -- or promote some alternative that creates the appearance that the tenants are the ones at fault.  Don't be fooled! 

Every person who will live in the house should sign the lease.  The law does not say anything about how many names appear on the lease. The law deals only with how many people occupy the house. 

THINK YOU WON'T BE CAUGHT?  The landlord would not insist on putting only 4 names on the lease unless the landlord knew the risk of being caught were serious.

A new provision of Urbana law allows the city to fine landlords $500 a day (up to $1000 a day for repeat offenders) if the landlord offered to lease the place to more than 4 unrelated people.  If a landlord offers to rent to more than 4 of  you and tries to cover up evidence of the offer, don't cooperate.  That will just set you up to take responsibility for the violation when you get caught and YOU could be fined.

Affidavit for leasing a house in Urbana

In Urbana, a landlord who rents a house must ask all tenants to sign a sworn statement that the tenants intend to have no more than 4 unrelated people living in the house.   The landlord must also sign a sworn statement that he or she has leased the house to  no more than 4 unrelated people.   If your group has more than four people DO NOT sign a sworn statement that says only four people will live in the house.   If you sign the affidavit saying you will have only four occupants and the city finds out that more than four unrelated people live in the house, you could face criminal charges for perjury.    In March 2007, the city started routine inspection of rental houses for code violations.   A zoning violation of more than 4 unrelated people could be discovered during these inspections.

A small number of houses in Urbana near the U of I campus are zoned as rooming houses that allow more than 4 unrelated people.  The addresses below are the ONLY houses which may be legally occupied by more than 4 unrelated people.

Busey Avenue: 601, 807, 809 and 1103 South Busey

California Avenue: 712 and 808 W. California

Elm Street:  608 W. Elm

Green Street: 505 and 705 W. Green

Illinois Street:  711 W. Illinois

Iowa Street: 801 W. Iowa

Lincoln Avenue: 105, 802, 908 and 1004 S. Lincoln

Nevada Street:  801, 803 and 808 W. Nevada

Ohio Street:  806 W. Ohio

Oregon Street:  801, 803, 804, 805 and 810 W. Oregon

Springfield Avenue: 705, 707, 804, and 806 W. Springfield

Stoughton Street: 1007 and 1009 W. Stoughton

Washington Street:  702 W. Washington

Western Avenue:  903 W. Western

The law does NOT limit the number of RELATED people who can live together in a house.  If you have children and the landlord limits the number of children who can live in the  house, that practice is probably a VIOLATION OF FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL NON-DISCRIMINATION LAWS. The only exception would be if the total number of household members, including children, is larger than zoning laws allow for use of a space that size. 

OCCUPANCY STANDARDS FOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE PER BEDROOM 

If you use a family room, parlor or dining room as sleeping space for family members, you can count the square footage of those rooms to determine whether the house is large enough for your family.  A kitchen, bathroom or hallway may not be used for sleeping purposes.

 If you think a landlord is discriminating against you because you have children or because of the number of children in your family, please contact Tenant Union immediately.

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The Tenant Union does not provide legal services of any kind. All information provided in this publication is intended to help the average person prevent problems and deal with common concerns of renting. When legal help is needed, always consult with an attorney at law.

This page was last updated on 2/21/07.