were't those occupancy laws established 'back in the day' as an attempt to make it more difficult to run brothels, or 'houses of ill repute,' if you will?
a limit of three unrelated occupants has nothing to do with building code or safety. it is/was clearly an attempt to control all living situations that did not conform to the traditional family structure. if a single family cannot afford a to rent a house in west phila, it is insane to blame the student tennants. if you are unhappy with the costs in the neighborhood, i would look at causes. penn has been extremely heavy-handed. christine --- HarvestMoon3 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A landlord could do as you suggest, but it would be > risky and foolish. Only > those who actually sign the lease would be > responsible for the lease. The > others would be "visitors" or tresspassers, and > there would be no > landlord-tenant relationship to enforce. After one > bad experience trying to > enforce the lease with the non-signers, the landlord > would say, " I've > learned my lesson, and won't do that again". > > Contrary to your assertion that it would be > impossible to enforce occupancy > limits, I believe it is in most cases a simple > matter, if the resources are > devoted to it. And, I believe (perhaps naively) that > most landlords would > obey the law if it were enforced and publicized. As > of now, there is no > attempt at enforcement. And the law is not > publicized at all. It wouldn't > be 100% enforceable, but it would change the > landscape of things in UC. > > Neil Lifson > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Dubin, Elisabeth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "HarvestMoon3" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Elizabeth > F. Campion" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 12:04 PM > Subject: RE: [UC] Movie Shoot in Clark Park > > > You can't be serious about enforcing occupancy > limits in this way. It would > be almost impossible to do, and would require some > kind of big-brother > system. I've lived in college towns where landlords > would only agree to > put, say, two people on a lease for a $2000 > two-bedroom house with a dining > room and living room. But that didn't mean that > there weren't four people > living there, in reality. Same results, in the end, > even though the > landlord is legally not doing anything wrong. This > is barking up the wrong > tree, it's just impossible to enforce. > > > ELISABETH DUBIN > hillier > > ONE SOUTH PENN SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19107 TEL: > 215.636.9999 FAX: > 215.636.9989 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: HarvestMoon3 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 11:22 AM > To: Elizabeth F. Campion > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [UC] Movie Shoot in Clark Park > > > I've seen ads and listings for SF houses in UC > ranging up to $4000/mo. > These high prices are typically paid by groups of > 5-8 students living in the > house. This practice (allowing more than 3 unrelated > individuals to occupy a > housing unit), as Liz Campion correctly points out, > is illegal. It is never > enforced, however. NEVER. As Liz also correctly > points out, it can be > difficult to get the higher rents from young > families. (I think it's > difficult to get that kind of rent on a SF house > from "old" families or > couples or singles, too. These rents might be > realized in luxury apartment > situation such as the Left Bank Apartments). > > The rent structure in UC is outrageously skewed > upward due to the city's > lack of enforcement of the occupancy limits. If > these limits were enforced, > a SF house could not / would not rent for the high > prices that are now being > charged. ($2500/ 5 people = $500 per person. $2500/ > 3 people = $833 per > person. Students will balk at this.) It also > probably would bring down the > selling prices of homes in the area (at least in the > short-term). If > landlords were truly prohibited from renting SF > houses to large groups, the > rents would fall, and many landlrods would probably > chose to sell the houses > (increasing the supply of SF houses on the market > and reducing the prices). > > I think this should be brought up as an issue to be > addressed by the Mayoral > candidates. Unequal enforcement of the law > benefits/enriches the few, and > those few are typically (though certainly not > always) absentee landlords. > The rest of us (residents) are essentially being > indirectly taxed (higher > rents, higher housing prices, more trash, more > noise, etc., often a lack of > maintenance on the rental houses -- resulting in > lower quality of life for > nearby residents, etc.) This has been a major > concern of mine for years, and > Spruce Hill CA has attempted to deal with it > (unsuccessfully) through L&I > and Councilwoman Blackwell. It always simply comes > to a dead-end. To my way > of thinking, this is a major scandal. Who is > directing L&I to keep these > regulations unenforced? > > Also, Liz Campion's referal to cabbies who buy and > sell Medalions and > therefor have high incomes is not typical. I don't > know the details of > Medalions, etc., but I know they can sell for many > thousands of dollars > ($50k? $100k?). A typical cabdriver, from my > understanding, does not own a > medalion, but must rent it. They do not get to keep > all the fares paid to > them, as I understand it. Can anyone shed some > light on this? We can > always pick out some specific wealthy secretary or > nurse or other (you name > it), but this doesn't mean that people with those > occupations typically have > high incomes. Does anyone have insight into the > "typical" cabdriver's > income? > > Finally, David Morse (in "Hack") does not appear to > own his cab or a > medalion. He's on the low end of the scale, > certainly doesn't appear to > have much of anything, and seems to not spend much > time picking up cab > fares.Call me crazy, but I don't see how he can > afford to purchase or rent a > SF home in UC unless he has large savings or an > inheritance or somethng. > This info, so far as I know, has not been offered on > the TV show (though, I > haven't seen all episodes). > > Neil Lifson > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Elizabeth F. Campion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 9:24 AM > Subject: Re: [UC] Movie Shoot in Clark Park > > > > > I know that I was able to help one young family > rent a home on the very > > desirable 4600 block of Hazel for $1,800.00 / > month for a 2003-2004 > > School Year Lease. Folks should be aware that the > City has a housing > > code which limits occupancy to three or fewer > unrelated. It can be > > difficult to get the higher ($2,500) rents from > young families, but > > neighbors who are suffering from unsupervised > "groups" may have some > > recourse. And Landlords who have suffered even > one horrendous clean-out > > / make-ready after a bad "group" may find that > staying within the law and > > accepting a slightly smaller rent is more cost > effective in the long run. > > > > Best! > > Liz > > ---- > You are receiving this because you are subscribed to > the > list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive > information, see > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
