Legality around getting a certain of type of renter

[Anonymous]

Go directly to the university housing. That's how I found temporary places when I was a visiting scholar. They had a list of people with available units. I wanted a female landlord, landlord wanted female tenants, post graduate only. There was no problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure you'll hear from some lawyers here on DCUM, but as far as I know, as long as you'd be open to someone of any race/religion/sexual orientation/etc etc it's not illegal.

I will say that this seems just as dicey as AirBnB as far as having the space open for the holidays. If you have a renter with a legal lease I don't think you can ask them to vacate for random days, holidays or not. I would not assume that a presumably low-paid intern or PhD student has the funds to travel home for holidays, either.

OP here. Yes I am open any race/religion etc etc etc in that list, what I really don’t want is men, particarly the over 35 white variety. I also would generally look to rent to people with liberal political leanings. Like having a young woman working at planned parenthood would be awesome.

I sort of don’t care if this is illegal, I want to do a small part to help a bit and this seems like a nice way to do it. But I also wanted to dcum gut check. Maybe my friend just thought my plan was stupid.

OP, go back and reread the bolded passage. Read it twice if you need to.

Now do you see how stupid and self-contradictory it is?

[Anonymous]

I know a realtor who rented out her basement, I don't think it was totally separate from her family's house, and like shared a laundry room, so she only wanted women (and I think legally fine since it wasn't a separate unit); she used to look on the "seeking housing" board on Craigslist and sort through posts and contact people who sounded like a good fit. That said, you can't bar your tenant from having guests (including...AHHHH...white men) and you can't ask them to vacate for holidays (or use their space for holidays if they are out of town!). Have you thought about short term corporate rentals? Maybe with a left-leaning organization that needs housing for visiting scholars or fellows?

[Anonymous]

Just because someone works at a non-profit you like, or is a PhD student, or whatever, does not mean that person will be a good tenant. Be careful what you wish for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a basement studio apartment I’d like to leverage for some extra income, but the obvious choices—Airbnb or a long term rental—hasn’t sat well with me for various reasons. Recently I came up with the idea of doing short term rentals, like a month or two or a summer, for young women who are working on issues I am supportive of. Like perhaps a PhD student doing research or an intern working at a non profit I believe in. I’d charge them steeply reduced rent and perhaps get to know some really sharp young people. This would also give us the flexibility to have the space open for the holidays, for example, so our parents can stay.

I mentioned this idea to a friend and she insisted that this was illegal and that I need to be in line with fair housing practices. Is that correct?

Also, any ideas what networks I could reach out to where an offer like this could be welcome? I went to undergrad and grad school in dc so seems like many students or young people wouldn’t need something like this, as opposed to out of town schools.

What are your thoughts?

I don't know if you're new to landlording but what I see in your post is some grade A naivete. What you're doing is equating a certain set of views in a person to their perfection as a tenant, and it just doesn't work that way. These people aren't your friends. Your relationship is strictly businesslike. What you should care about is: do they pay on time? Are they good about maintenance and cleanliness? Are they weird? Are they going to use your microwave for food storage and forget about it for days, leaving you with a pest problem? Are they going to feed you a sob story every month about why they can't pay? Are they going to grill something on open fire and scorch the cabinets? Are they going to call you every time a light bulb needs replacing? Are they going to be snowflakes who can't be held to rights?

I assure you, a superliberal young POC woman is just as capable of being a major non-paying PITA as a young white male Republican! And vice versa! Are you going to be less annoyed snaking a toilet because it's liberal feces? No! You're just not going to care. Look for a good tenant first and forget the rest. You seem to want to exert an inordinate amount of control over all the wrong things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally legal if it is your own house AND not using a realtor.

Trouble is realtors abide by rules as well
As Airbnb type places.

You need to do craigs list, zillow, sublet.com, sabbatical.com type places. Advertise at local colleges might work.

Don't work white guys don't want to live in basements owned by folks like you.

You obviously are not a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

This is actually an interesting thread. I live in NE DC and have a basement studio I’ve long wanted to rent out. But every time I’ve tried I’ve only gotten interest from young POC, typically men. I’m guessing it’s because my neighborhood isn’t quite, shall we say, gentrified yet (although when I bought here I assumed it would be by now!).

I don’t want to rent to a young POC because I don’t like the music they listen to (thin walls) and I worry about the company they keep.

Any advice on how I could get a good tenant in my neighborhood under these circumstances?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I assure you, I get the landscape and what I am asking. And I still don’t think I need to apologize. I scraped by when I was in my early 20s taking unpaid internships and working three jobs to pay for rent to get experience in field I believed in. And now that field is under attack. And in parallel, I have found success and now have a giant unoccupied basement I am able to rent out. So yeah. I’d like to pay it forward and charge nothing to a smart young person who is also in my field. Bc I can, I want to give a leg up to a POC or woman who might be able to have a summer or semester that was a little easier then I had it. I do wonder if this is legal so I know what I am getting into. But I assure you, the legality will not particularly affect my plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is actually an interesting thread. I live in NE DC and have a basement studio I’ve long wanted to rent out. But every time I’ve tried I’ve only gotten interest from young POC, typically men. I’m guessing it’s because my neighborhood isn’t quite, shall we say, gentrified yet (although when I bought here I assumed it would be by now!).

I don’t want to rent to a young POC because I don’t like the music they listen to (thin walls) and I worry about the company they keep.

Any advice on how I could get a good tenant in my neighborhood under these circumstances?

I see what you’re doing there. Yes, that’s the point of the rest of the posters who think OP is ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a basement studio apartment I’d like to leverage for some extra income, but the obvious choices—Airbnb or a long term rental—hasn’t sat well with me for various reasons. Recently I came up with the idea of doing short term rentals, like a month or two or a summer, for young women who are working on issues I am supportive of. Like perhaps a PhD student doing research or an intern working at a non profit I believe in. I’d charge them steeply reduced rent and perhaps get to know some really sharp young people. This would also give us the flexibility to have the space open for the holidays, for example, so our parents can stay.

I mentioned this idea to a friend and she insisted that this was illegal and that I need to be in line with fair housing practices. Is that correct?

Also, any ideas what networks I could reach out to where an offer like this could be welcome? I went to undergrad and grad school in dc so seems like many students or young people wouldn’t need something like this, as opposed to out of town schools.

What are your thoughts?

I don't know if you're new to landlording but what I see in your post is some grade A naivete. What you're doing is equating a certain set of views in a person to their perfection as a tenant, and it just doesn't work that way. These people aren't your friends. Your relationship is strictly businesslike. What you should care about is: do they pay on time? Are they good about maintenance and cleanliness? Are they weird? Are they going to use your microwave for food storage and forget about it for days, leaving you with a pest problem? Are they going to feed you a sob story every month about why they can't pay? Are they going to grill something on open fire and scorch the cabinets? Are they going to call you every time a light bulb needs replacing? Are they going to be snowflakes who can't be held to rights?

I assure you, a superliberal young POC woman is just as capable of being a major non-paying PITA as a young white male Republican! And vice versa! Are you going to be less annoyed snaking a toilet because it's liberal feces? No! You're just not going to care. Look for a good tenant first and forget the rest. You seem to want to exert an inordinate amount of control over all the wrong things.

+1 and I'll add it's strange and kind of stupid of OP to assume she'll "get to know some sharp young women" because they rent your apartment for 2 months. They're not going to be eating supper at her boardinghouse table, enjoying a freewheeling discussion of issues of the day. They're going to see her when they pick up and drop off the keys, and when the toilet overflows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I assure you, I get the landscape and what I am asking. And I still don’t think I need to apologize. I scraped by when I was in my early 20s taking unpaid internships and working three jobs to pay for rent to get experience in field I believed in. And now that field is under attack. And in parallel, I have found success and now have a giant unoccupied basement I am able to rent out. So yeah. I’d like to pay it forward and charge nothing to a smart young person who is also in my field. Bc I can, I want to give a leg up to a POC or woman who might be able to have a summer or semester that was a little easier then I had it. I do wonder if this is legal so I know what I am getting into. But I assure you, the legality will not particularly affect my plans.

I am glad you are trying to play it forward, makes me feel better for all the under-educated single moms I turn away because I don't have the patience for their stories of why they need help every other month when they are late with the rent all while their kids destroy everything and random men come and go multiple times a week. We balance each other out, better you than me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I assure you, I get the landscape and what I am asking. And I still don’t think I need to apologize. I scraped by when I was in my early 20s taking unpaid internships and working three jobs to pay for rent to get experience in field I believed in. And now that field is under attack. And in parallel, I have found success and now have a giant unoccupied basement I am able to rent out. So yeah. I’d like to pay it forward and charge nothing to a smart young person who is also in my field. Bc I can, I want to give a leg up to a POC or woman who might be able to have a summer or semester that was a little easier then I had it. I do wonder if this is legal so I know what I am getting into. But I assure you, the legality will not particularly affect my plans.

The fair housing doesn't really pertain to small time land lords with less than a few unit or renting out part of their home. You can't explicitly say no darkies or white devils but if you just ignore them until they go away you can rent to who ever you like for what ever you like if you can find a target person wanting to rent. If it lives up to your expectations is another story.

This micro discrimination is why black people actually have a hard time penetrating expensive white neighborhoods. Allegedly anyone can buy in AU park or Cleveland park, but good luck renting there.

[Anonymous]

OP- with all due respect, find another plan to help liberal women/causes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I assure you, I get the landscape and what I am asking. And I still don’t think I need to apologize. I scraped by when I was in my early 20s taking unpaid internships and working three jobs to pay for rent to get experience in field I believed in. And now that field is under attack. And in parallel, I have found success and now have a giant unoccupied basement I am able to rent out. So yeah. I’d like to pay it forward and charge nothing to a smart young person who is also in my field. Bc I can, I want to give a leg up to a POC or woman who might be able to have a summer or semester that was a little easier then I had it. I do wonder if this is legal so I know what I am getting into. But I assure you, the legality will not particularly affect my plans.

If the legality doesn't matter (and you're probably ok, anyway) are you just posting on DCUM to rile up trouble? I don't get the point of your post.

[Anonymous]

My neighbor only advertises at NIH. She gets women and men from all over the world. They stay anywhere from 4 months- 2 years, depending on their fellowships. If you want less time than that then contact your Senator or Congressperson for summer interns.

But, I don't know why I am helping out a racist, ageist, sexist -- liberal! -- bigot. I used to be a liberal, but frankly i cannot stand them anymore.