OVER-OCCUPANCY

In most residential neighborhoods in Boulder, the maximum number of unrelated persons who may live together is three.

That is, in most neighborhoods, four or more unrelated persons living together is illegal.  This is true for the great majority of property on University Hill.  Over-occupancy is the root cause of much of the degradation of University Hill.

The city notes that:

• In residential areas zoned "LR" or ("low density"), ER - RR- AE and PE for single family residences, only one family, plus two non-related persons, or no more than three unrelated persons may live in a dwelling. In other zoning districts,  four unrelated persons are allowed (Boulder Revised Code 9-3.2-8)   

The maximum penalty for violation of this offense is enormous, $2,000 per day.  This means, for example, that if a landlord rented a house on September 1 to four students in a neighborhood zoned light residential (LR), then by mid-April of 2001, the landlord would face a potential fine of more than $400,000. 

In most cases, the University Hill Neighborhood Association believes that landlords are the appropriate defendants in over-occupancy cases.  (Under the applicable Code provision, tenants are subject to the same fine of $2,000 per day that landlords face.)  Our experience is that tenants, especially student-tenants, are often the victims of unscrupulous, profit-maximizing landlords who seek to stuff as many tenants as possible into degraded living conditions.  These over-occupied houses harm the tenants and the neighborhood.  To the extent possible, the University Hill Neighborhood Association has asked the Boulder City Attorney to focus its occupancy enforcement efforts on landlords and not tenants, particularly when those tenants are students.

If you have a complaint about a housing unit that you believe to be violating the occupancy limits, call the City of Boulder Zoning Enforcement at:  303-441-3239. Give them the address about which you are concerned.  Ask them to let you know what they discovers and what enforcement action they is taking.

If you have doubts as to the zoning of property on the Hill, consult the  University Hill zoning map.  Most of the Hill is zoned LR, which means no more than three persons per unit.  Some of the boundaries of the Hill neighborhood are zoned HR and MR, which allows four persons per unit.   

For other Boulder neighborhoods, consult the Planning Department's zoning map. (To use this map, you may also need to consult the map legend).

Once a property in your neighborhood goes on the market, it's a good idea to contact the real estate professional representing the seller.  There is an obligation by realtors to inform potential buyers of the zoning for the properties they represent;  therefore this is a perfect time to send a letter reminding sellers and realtors of zoning status.  

You may also wish to contact the Rental Licensing office in order to determine whether a particular property has a rental license and also whether the property has legal, non-conforming uses.  In order to find out this information, call the Rental Licensing office at 303-441-3152.