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Hi, I was told today by foster parent licensing that I need to have written permission from my landlord to adopt (foster adopt). If Fair Housing laws specifically say a landlord cannot discriminate against anyone with children under the age of 18, my landlord cannot legally say we can't have children in our home. If that is the case how can the state even ask for the letter? I'm confused! Does anyone in the beautiful but extremely frustrating state of CA have experience with this???
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our first landlord in CA would have never approved us either so we had to wait to buy a house....and some friends of mine in CA tried to foster/adopt and were told the same thing....their landlord also refused to sign off on the paperwork and so they were unable to foster or adopt as well. I don't understand the law behind it....bc I don't think a landlord could kick you out for birthing a baby???? but maybe i'm wrong about that.
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The reason behind it is you are considered a business. I know that sounds bad, it does to me. When you become licensed to foster then your home is a business. On our Foster license it says Name of Facility then below it, it says (our last name) Foster Family Home. You don't have to have a business license, but your home is contracted with the county, state or agency. If conducting a business in any rental property, you must have landlords permission. Even though you are adopting, you are foster/adopt which means you have to have a foster license. Now if you were straight adopting then you do not need permission. I hope this helps. It has nothing to do with adopting a child, it has everything to do with obtaining a foster license.
I know that many years ago when I was single, many of the apartments I rented had rules against children living there. You signed a contract when you moved in. They did make women who got pregnant move out. Of course, this was over 20 years ago and not in California, but I do know that in Texas there are some apartment complexes that are adult only.
It's not about you adopting. You are a foster parent first, and as one of the PPs stated you are considered a "facility" so it affects your landlord. So you need permission to foster (not to adopt). Foster children come with baggage and issues and can be destructive. Some landlords don't want the children destroying their property and then the foster parents move with no regard to the damage the child has caused.
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I'm in CA (Riverside County) and our lease simply had to have children listed in it. When we moved in, we had all 4 of our kids at home. So, our lease states "2 adults, 4 children." My oldest is now almost 20 and in the Marine Corp so doesn't qualify as a "child" or live at home anymore. My Step-daughter also moved in with her mom over the summer, so she doesn't live here anymore, either. Therefore, we got lucky in that we didn't have to have a letter from our landlord. We're licensed for a total of 4 kids (including our 2). In April, our next son turns 18, so we'll be able to open our home to another child. Best wishes with your landlord!
:thanks: Thanks for postin gthis. my DH and I are new to the foster care process and live in a duplex community. It never occured to me to check with my landlord about foster care. I had looked at like being the same as having Bio kids, because our plan is fost/adopt. This was news to me.... thanks again!
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