questions & answers

Question: Can a landlord dictate where a child sleeps? Saying a child over 2 “needs” their own bedroom. Not only is this nickel and diming parents to pay the extra rent for more rooms it feels extremely discriminating and invasive of parental rights. Telling me where my child can and can’t sleep, basically not allowing bedsharing or trying to get families with kids to move elsewhere cause they can’t afford adding another bedroom to their budget.

Answer: No, as a general rule a landlord may not require a tenant who is the parent of a child to provide that child with their own bedroom. If you would like legal advice about this, there are links to free and low-cost legal services on this website (at http://www.azlawhelp.org/accessToJustice). Any tenant who believes that their landlord is discriminating against them – in this case on the basis of what the Fair Housing Act calls “familial status” – may wish to consider filing a complaint with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and/or the Civil Rights Division of the Office of the Arizona Attorney General. To learn more about filing a housing discrimination complaint at the federal level, you may contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or visit the following webpage: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint To learn more about filing a housing discrimination complaint at the state level, you may contact the Civil Rights Division of the Office of the Arizona Attorney General at 1-877-491-5742 (Phoenix office) or 1-877-491-5740 (Tucson office) or visit the following webpage: https://housing.az.gov/have-you-been-discriminated-against-when-making-your-housing-choice