Homes occupied by more than four unrelated adults could be fined up to $2,000 per day after Humble City Council banned the units from residential neighborhoods Jan. 22.

How we got here

City staff brought the restrictions to City Council due to a “rise of novel housing arrangements such as ‘house sharing’ or ‘congregate living,’” according to meeting documents for City Council’s regular Jan. 22 meeting. The situations targeted by the ordinance typically involve the individual rooms in a single-family home being rented out to multiple families.

“It’s not a hotel,” City Manager Jason Stuebe said Jan. 22. “It’s not a boarding home. It’s not an apartment building. It’s this ungoverned gray area that everyone’s trying to figure out how to regulate. But currently, there’s not any state regulation on it.”

The rise in these living arrangements has created a “significant gap in regulation,” making it difficult to ensure the facilities comply with fire and building codes, according to meeting documents.

“We’ve seen [congregate living situations] get as high as 13 [rented] rooms for one house, that I think was actually less than 2,000 square feet, at most,” Stuebe said “So it’s creating a life-safety issue.”

Diving deeper

According to the meeting documents, the approved rules:

Apply to buildings with three or more sleeping rooms rented separatelyApply when people living in the house “do not function as a single house unit” and may have individual leases, room locks and shared kitchens or bathroomsPrevent congregate living units from operating in residential neighborhoodsRestrict more than four unrelated adults from living in one “dwelling unit,” and more than two adults living in one bedroomRequire at least 150 square feet of “total floor area” per building occupantImpose a fine of $500-$2,000 per day for violationsRequire a permit from the city for congregate living units to operateHumble City Council’s new rules do not apply to properties being used for Airbnb rentals, Stuebe said via email Jan. 23. Airbnb is an international company that allows people to rent out part or entire homes or properties to guests for vacations, according to the company’s website.

Quote of note

“We’re committed to protect our neighborhoods,” Mayor Norman Funderburk said Jan. 22. “I think it sums it up pretty well with this introduction to the ordinance where it says, ‘Such housing arrangements have a potential to create nuisance conditions in residential areas, such as on- and off-street parking, among others.’”