Housing limit is too low

The City of Blooomington has recently taken a landlord and four tenants to court claiming they violated a city ordinance that prohibits more than three unrelated people from living under the same roof. \nWhile this law might have reasoning behind it, the fact remains that it is unclear to students who ultimately become the victim. When this law was created, we feel the city should have been understanding by knowing this was a college town and that not everyone is related. \nWe feel the spirit of the ordinance is unclear and inconsistent. It generalizes too much and leaves many confused and in the dark. The logic behind the ordinance should be popular knowledge and fully explained to all students -- including those who are from out-of-state and know very little about local laws. \nHalf of the city is probably breaking the law right now and have no idea. That's a big problem. \nWe think a four bedroom house is suitable for four tenants as it presents no danger or hazards. A four bedroom house is built to safely occupy four people. College students are the victims here. It's public knowledge that living with more people cuts the cost of living. This makes it a more economical situation for students and parents. The students are the target market here and are the ones being prosecuted for trying to obtain reasonable rent. \nWe don't think it's fair to blame tenants when it's the landlord who fully understands how their property is zoned, and this is where we think the problem lies. Communication between the city and landlords should be precise and understanding. If a landlord feels their property should be rezoned to allow more occupancy, they should take those steps to get it rezoned instead of renting it out to any amount of students. The tenants shouldn't be dumped with the responsibility of knowing the zoning qualifications of their rented house. The landlord should be accountable to inform tenants of this law and post it in the rented house. If they aren't informed, the city expects the tenants to know anyway. \nWe can understand that some neighborhoods don't want student housing in them but to make a city-wide law affecting every area of housing is ridiculous and ignorant. Students make up a huge amount of the population during the school year and without students, much of the real estate would go unoccupied. \nWe think no one will take the fine seriously because the fines issued are so exorbitant. The city won't get that much money per day out of students. \nThe size of the house and the amount of rent it could provide should be considered here. This law hurts college kids and their living options. If you're going to be charged for a four bedroom, you should be able to fill it.