Do I need to tell my landlord I'm pregnant?
Just wondering if I'm legally obligated to tell our landlord when we have our baby in a few months. Our house isn't covered under rent control and I worry that we'll receive a steep increase in our rent because the landlord thinks kids are hard on the property (based on a casual conversation we had when we were moving in). We only see him face to face every couple of years generally. As it is we've been having trouble absorbing the 7% annual hikes he's been doling out. We live in Richmond (single family home so the new ordinance sadly doesn't apply to us). Thanks for any insight!
Dec 27, 2016
Parent Replies
Hell no you're not obligated and it's 100% illegal for him to discriminate against you for having children.
Your landlord is not a allowed to discriminate against you based on whether you have children. That's illegal and violates fair housing. Call ECHO- it's a fair housing counseling nonprofit in the Bay Area that jurisdictions like richmond support so their residents have free counseling services. Good luck!
I believe there is no obligation to disclose. But read your lease to see what it says about children and number of people in the dwelling. If he finds out and is concerned about the condition of the property, I suggest that you offer to let him in for an inspection once a year.
You don't have to tell him that you are pregnant or having a child. By law they cannot discriminate against a child and raise your rent. He might find another reasons to raise it but cannot say its because the baby.