Landlords, would you rent your 2BR to someone with kids

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:26 am

I am pregnant with my second and am searching for a new apt. I really do not think we need more space than a 2BR and don't foresee us moving out of one right after having a 3rd kid either iyH which likely wouldn't be for a few more years.

I am seeing that landlords are hesitant to rent a 2BR to someone at my stage. As a landlord, would you feel comfortable renting to a family who is at our point?

amother

Tiffanyblue

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:31 am

amother OP wrote:

I wouldn’t - speaking as someone who owns a house in Lakewood and rent it out

amother

Cappuccino

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:32 am

It really depends where you are.
I am in Brooklyn. I rented a two bedroom when I got married. (A walk in) when my oldest was three months, we moved to a three bedroom because severe mold issues in the first apartment.

mha3484

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:33 am

I rented a 2.5 bed to a family with kids. They took very very good care of the place and were a pleasure. I rented to someone else with kids and it was a nightmare so you can never really know but I don't think I would automatically say no kids.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:36 am

I think we are easygoing tenants, my current landlord is very happy with us and we definitely took good care of the apt. Obviously I can't predict future children's temperaments but my current 2 yo is quiet and not destructive

miami85

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:46 am

Just curious, where are young families with kids supposed to go? A lot of families in their upper 20s with 2-3 kids and just need the 2 bedrooms are just not ready to buy a house in this market.

You can set "strict rules" about no coloring on walls and damage etc., but to NOT at all? seems harsh.

amother

Lime

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:50 am

Those who say no, is it because of potential damage or because of security.

I know landlords who would rather the security of long-term renting. A couple expecting their 2nd will likely not stay in a 2 bedroom for many years as opposed to a newlywed couple.

amother

Razzmatazz

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:52 am

amother Aubergine wrote:

Huh??

How did our standards get so high that we can’t have a 2bdrm with 2 kids

It's not about high standards.
Many landlords want long term renters, and a family with 2 kids, most likely won't be staying in a 2 bedroom apartment for too long. The apartments are small, growing families need space.

amother

Maize

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:56 am

But who is staying in a 2br long term? Most young couples will be looking to expand their family. Are you going to start vetting by how many children they're thinking to have and in how many years? Or maybe it's only open to people with fertility issues? An older couple will hopefully own their own home and not be looking to rent.
So who is the magical person that is the person to rent to?

amother

Dimgray ↓

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:59 am

amother Razzmatazz wrote:

With the housing market nowadays evrn families with kids are staying in apartments for years. I know families with 5-6 kids who are still in 2 bedroom apartments

amother

DarkCyan ↓

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 10:59 am

We would rent our apartment to a family with one child and one on the way.
The only hesitancy I could see is let’s say a newlywed couple wants the apartment, they would probably stay longer than a family who has 2 kids. (For some reason they always move out at that point). It’s possible that the landlord is thinking that if you will have 2 kids soon, you might want to move out and this would be a short term rental. As a landlord, each time the tenant moves out (and it’s usually when they have 2 kids), we have to fix up the apartment a bit between tenants and that is costly for us.
Maybe you can assure a potential landlord that you plan on staying for a few years.
We would not want to rent out our apartment to a large family since we would be worried about the apartment getting ruined but 1-2 kids, even 3 kids is not considered a large family.

amother

↑ OP

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 11:02 am

amother DarkCyan wrote:

Thanks, I should try to do this.

As a side point, my neighbor's basement tenant just bought a house and moved out. They were living in the apartment for 2 years and had one young baby so there really are no guarantees.

amother

↑ DarkCyan ↓

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 11:03 am

amother Maize wrote:

I feel like this is happening in Lakewood. For some reason EVERYONE has to own a house. In other communities people stay in small apartments for a very long time. Sometimes forever.

amother

Bellflower

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 11:24 am

Not Lakewood, but I’ve learned it depends more on the people renting than how many kids they have. We had a family if 6 leave our 2 bedroom (they started off as a family of 4) and the place was left perfect we didn’t have to repaint. The kids did color in walls but the mother was a perfectionist who would repaint after kids colored because she didn’t like to live in a space with colored walls.
We have had bigger damages from smaller families.

amother

Lilac

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 12:12 pm

I’m just going to point out that it’s extremely illegal to not rent to someone because they have children. They can’t just say they are looking for a chosson kallah, it’s against federal law

amother

Raspberry

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 12:12 pm

tweety1 wrote:

After having a nightmare tenant with a small family I didn't want hear of giving out again to a family with kids. We bh got a chossan/kallah

You realize that they beH will have a family soon.....