Ask Me Help Desk - Illegal renting?

I live in pa and am currently renting a part of a house that has two separate entrances but has a door to go to the landlords side that I have no control of the lock... this makes me uneasy and unsecure... it is set up very much identical to a mother daughter single family house... the landlord has told me that if someone I don't know comes by and they ask who I am, that I am to tell them I am family... I feel this is a single family dwelling and I am renting illegal... should I do something about that... because I didn't know that it was and should I try to get my rent and security back... I thought that it was weird to have only one address number and one utilities bill for each utility, that it paid for by the landlord... what do I do...

Sounds like you are renting an illegal apartment inside a single family dwelling. Your landlord is trying to keep under the radar so he's a shifty character at best. Did you sign a lease? If so make several copies and store in a place off this site. Tell the landlord that you must move out immediately and are totally uneasy with the situation. If he balks you could mention a copy of the lease is being given to the city. Keep in mind he is shifty so be on guard.

Well merely having one mail box, or just having the entire house on one meter does not mean that it is anything wrong, many rooming houses have this.

But since they told you to lie that is the big red flag.
Now the way to check is to see what the home is zoned, multifamily, or romming house.

But yes, the fact is it a illegal lease, means all terms of the lease are void, because you can not have a contract for anything illegal. But you will have to go with the idea if they don't return the deposit, you will turn this in,

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdoe

i live in pa and am currently renting a part of a house that has two separate entrances but has a door to go to the landlords side that i have no control of the lock.....this makes me uneasy and unsecure....it is set up very much identical to a mother daughter single family house....the landlord has told me that if someone i dont know comes by and they ask who i am, that i am to tell them i am family......i feel this is a single family dwelling and i am renting illegal.....should i do something about that....cuz i didnt know that it was and should i try to get my rent and security back.....i thought that it was weird to have only one address number and one utilities bill for each utility, that it paid for by the landlord.....what do i do....

I don't know what county you live in PA but you should be able to get on the county's webpage and look up the house. I live in a duplex in Allegheny and if I look at the county website my house is listed as a multi family home.