Rental Restriction on College Students to Face Legal Battle

In March, the Boston Zoning Commission gave the green light to a Boston City Council proposal to restrict the number of college age tenants in a rental unit to four. Now the legality of the plan will be challenged in court.

The rationale behind the restriction was that having large numbers of students together in one dwelling leads to raucous partying and ascending rental prices (which could price "traditional families" out of neighborhoods.) But according to the Allston-Brighton Tab, a lawyer named Stephen Greenbaum is attempting to "to prevent the law’s immediate enforcement and eventually invalidate it."

Richard L. Cravatts says the plan may prove "shortsighted and misguided" and makes the argument that the Mayor Menino-backed restriction unfairly burdens property-owners/landlords: "Instead of blaming a landlord for providing living space for a group, why not fine or punish the students themselves if they break the law, just as we would for any group that became a nuisance in a neighborhood?"

The proposal's sponsors are confident that they are on sound legal ground, despite Greenbaum's contention that it infringes on privacy rights, constitutional protections, and creates an illegal form of rent control.

Thanks to a reader for tipping us to the articles cited. Image of Comm. Ave in Brighton at night by user Turbyne via Wikipedia Commons. Full size image here.