When you were younger, your parents probably told you to always read the fine print, right? You want to be sure that you know exactly what you are getting yourself into before you sign on the dotted line. Sure, we've all hit "agree" after those IOS updates because who has time for that nonsense. But what about your lease agreement? Did you make sure to read that one over really, really well?
A couple in Arizona thought they knew what they were getting into when they rented their two-bedroom home, but somewhere along the line, they missed a detail. The couple recently welcomed a new baby, who happened to be in the NICU for a while. Their landlord came by recently, saw the baby, and slapped them with a rent increase. They thought that was crazy and posted to Reddit's Legal Advice forum for help.
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The couple was not expecting a rent hike for a newborn.
The original poster wrote a brief post explaining that the landlord told the couple they would have to pay $75 more per month for the new occupant, and it was retroactive for as long as the baby had been alive.
"We rent a two bedroom house and pay ALL of the utilities, so we were confused what she was talking about. Upon coming home we looked at our lease agreement and sure enough it actually was," she wrote.
The landlord is doing her own calculations.
The OP thinks this is all kinds of crazy and isn't even sure that her landlord can enforce this rent increase.
"So they're wanting to retroactively add $75 onto each month they've assumed our baby has been in the home, despite the fact she's only been home for a month a half or so — and I'm not sure this is actually legal?" OP shared.
Redditors came to help.
This seems out of the ordinary to some Redditors.
Only some people in the forum are lawyers, but some business people and property managers shared their insights.
One person claimed the lease is federally illegal. "You live in a 2-bedroom unit. You should legally, by occupancy standards, be able to have as many as 5 people in that unit. I don't think a lease can dictate whether or not you have children — that's discrimination," the person wrote.
"Not sure about your local laws, but everywhere I have lived, the only relevant residents are persons over 18. I think to do otherwise may be discrimination on the basis of familial status in violation of Title VIII," someone else commented. "You should contact a local tenant's advocacy group. If there isn't one for that specific purposes, try looking for a legal services group."
Others say the landlord is doing nothing wrong.
Although it may seem ethically shady, the landlord isn't wrong, according to some people.
"Well he is not discriminating against you or kicking you out for having a child which would be illegal under FHA. Nothing wrong with charging a reasonable fee for a new occupant," one person wrote. "You should discuss the fact with your landlord that she was not living at the home the whole time and you should only pay for when she has been living there, because that is the agreement spelled out in your lease."
Some think that OP is blowing this out of proportion.
"You're saying that your baby has been living in the NICU, so why don't you just tell your landlord that? The solution is simple. Just give her the discharge paper and it's all done. I don't understand why this is an issue unless she would still make you pay despite the evidence, but you haven't even shown her the papers(or possibly not even told her?)," someone else asked.
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Weird? Yes. Illegal? Not really.
Well, OP, Redditors thinks this whole thing is strange and a bit of a money grab, but it's probably not illegal if it is expressly in your lease. If you don't want to pay for your daughter's time in the hospital, get some documentation, and you're good.
Lesson learned: Read the fine print with a magnifying glass. It could save you time, money, and hassle down the road.
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