Lowell proposal seeks to limit the number of unrelated tenants in rental units

LOWELL, Mass. — A city meeting on Tuesday will address a proposal to limit the number of unrelated tenants occupying rental units in Lowell.

Critics of the proposal say it unfairly targets college students.

About 19,000 students attend UMass Lowell. Two-thirds of them live in off-campus housing.

The Zoning subcommittee is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting is open to the public. Several landlords are expected to attend.

While UMass Lowell has a goal to get more students to live on campus, right now most students don't and that is causing issues for some.

"It will put definitely some of us out of business," Jeff Dillon of DeRosa Realty, which rents apartments in Lowell, said of the proposal.

That's in part because, they say, the changes could affect property values.

The proposed ordinance "seems to be targeting mostly students," Dillon said.

Dillon says there have been complaints of parties and unruly behavior. Those complaints led neighborhood activists to propose limiting the number of unrelated renters in a given apartment unit to three, landlords told Boston 25 News.

The current ordinance already defines a housekeeping unit as two or more related individuals, or no more than three renters who are unrelated.

The amendments would require landlords to determine kinship anytime four or more renters plan to lease an apartment, or they could face penalties.

Landlords said the impact will go far beyond students at UMass Lowell. For example, they said it could impact a group of friends who decide to live together or a couple of single parents who want to save on living expenses.

Dillon says landlords have formed a group to oppose the measure. One member is a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombings.

"He'll sit right here and tell you, he survived getting blown up at the marathon," Dillon said. "He may not survive if this goes through."

Cox Media Group