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Single-family home conversion
Posted by: mamabean ()
Date: March 06, 2007 10:53AM

My neighbor's house is listed as a single-family home (I checked with FFX county public records), yet it was converted to a multi-family home. The basement of the home is now a separate apartment (with kitchen) with a separate back entrance. The current owner did not do the conversion, the previous one did, so he could rent the bottom "unit". But the current owner takes full advantage of this multi-family setup. At one point, in addition to his own family, he had two separate unrelated tenants in the basement. The owner has since moved and now the house is completely filled with renters (with many cars, too, I might add). I'm wondering if this type of multi-family home is legal, as the county still lists the home as a single-family. I'm curious to find out what the owners of a single-family home must do to legally do this type of conversion, and what licenses, permits, etc. they must have.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: March 06, 2007 11:06AM

Instead of posting here, why not call the county and ask?

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: mamabean ()
Date: March 06, 2007 11:12AM

Well, I just thought someone here might already know. And I thought this thread might be interesting to other homeowners as well. Of course I know I can call the country, I may just do that later.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: March 06, 2007 11:46AM

I don't blame you for posting at all, it's just that what is posted here will likely be speculation and what is gained from the phone call will be fact.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Former HOA President ()
Date: March 06, 2007 12:07PM

Although I could be wrong, from what you stated it does not appear that your community has an active Homeowners' Association. Also to avoid the fiasco of a previous time when the poster here said that I do not know what I am talking about because he neglected to tell us he lives in Loudon County and they have different laws (I was quoting Fairfax County regulations), I am guessing the property is in FFX County, so lets skip to the next step.

Building permits and inspections were required when the previous owner did the conversion. Check to see if this was done.

Second, check with Fairfax County on zoning for the specifics for your area. The next step is to get an approximate count of how many people are living in the house. I am not an expert, but I do know there are specific rules for the number of people living in a house (max 4 unrelated and other stipulations). Also some rules regarding bedrooms and apartments including bedrooms must have ventilation and a window. Apartments must have an entrance/exit to the outside. In other words, if there was a fire in the house, could the basement apartment people "get out" without going through the house? Sub basement apartments without a separate entrance/exit are frowned upon. For specifices look at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/hd/hdpdf/healthyhomes.pdf . Most, if not all, of this is Commonwealth VA law although other jurisdictions may have additional requirements, so do not slam me on this publication if you live in another county.

these and other matters (including overcrowding) may be reported to the County Health Department.

Count how many people are living in the house. For good measure, get the license plate number of all vehicles associated with the house. Pay particularly close attention to out of state plates and anonymously report them to the county as tax evaders http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/taxevaders/addRecord.asp . This will make the tenants lives miserable!!!!! Also, look for cross plating - two cars having the same plate on the back of the vehicle and no front plate. If you see this, call the County Police 703-691-2131 and ask to have the vehicles ticketed. The police will come, ticket both vehicles and remove the plates. This is a major pain in the arse for the tenants.

If they are violating rules and you decide to report them you must do your homework and it is a long and frustrating project - and the tenants know this. It is worth it to bring the neighborhood back to normalcy. Good luck

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: mamabean ()
Date: March 06, 2007 12:33PM

Actually, we do have a HOA. And it was more than a few years ago that the previous owner converted the house, but I seem to remember that he was a board member of the HOA. And yes, we are in Fairfax County.

All of the houses here have basement exits, some have walk-outs. I have no idea whether the house has windows in the bedrooms. The number of windows in these homes varies -- mine, for example, has two.

It's hard to tell how many people live there because there always seems to a varying amount of folks coming and going. Visitors, I guess. I don't believe, however, that they have more than 4 unrelated residents. I really don't have anything against the tenants, other than the number of cars (and this is a pipestem, too), they are fairly quiet. However, in our experience, tenants do not usually stay there too long, and who knows who might move in next. In the past, we've had rowdy college students with a multitude of cars clogging the pipestem, and even one undesirable guy last year who the police dragged away yelling profanities after he slugged the other tenant. Nice.

Well, you have provided some helpful information so I guess if I want to pursue this thing, I know where to start.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Former HOA Pesident ()
Date: March 06, 2007 12:43PM

Whether or not the previous owner was on the board or not, the HOA has governing rules, bylaws, and a constitution that probably deals with this type of thing. If you do not have all the docs, ask for them. The HOA may charge up to $150 for a copy, but ask nicely and someone may loan you theirs if you do not have them.

By the way, what is a pipestem?

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: mamabean ()
Date: March 06, 2007 12:52PM

A pipestem is a private drive. It looks like a short little road with a driveway for each house. On ours, there are six houses that share this private drive. Because it is considered private, we don't get plowed, so all the neighbors are supposed to do their share of shoveling the drive. Last snow, all the neighbors except the renters I mentioned came out and did their share. All the renters did was plow their own driveway.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Former HOA President ()
Date: March 06, 2007 01:05PM

I would also contact the homeowner and tell him multiple people are living in his/her house. They might not be aware of this and might take care of the situation quickly.

I remember once telling some renter he could not fix his car in the neighborhood. He said rudely he was not aware of the rules and what was I going to do about it. I said I would wait for him to be done and have his car towed. He got angry. I said his landlord should have told him about the rules. He replied rudely that he did not know who the landlord is. I said then the landlord probably does not know who you are. I was right.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: mamabean ()
Date: March 06, 2007 01:11PM

Although I suppose there is a slim chance the homeowner doesn't know there are more people there than he originally planned, I find this unlikely. After all, when he was living there, he rented the basement to two unrelated tenants, so I'm inclined to think he's still taking advantage of his multi-family house.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Fairfax MF---er ()
Date: March 06, 2007 02:25PM

mamabean Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>

You must be new here or yanking our chain because this subject has been covered ad nauseum here in the past.

The gist is...you are screwed. Time to move.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Peyton ()
Date: March 06, 2007 03:07PM

Please report it to zoning enforcement at 703-324-1300 or file a complaint via the online form at http://66.179.23.21/dp1/metroplex/fairfaxcounty//customerservice/wiz_csr.asp and pick "Apartment in a home" as your violation complaint. Every complaint IS investigated.

You could also file a complaint anonymously via your Board of Supervisors' office. They can file the complaint in the Board member's name and you can call the board office for follow ups so your name is never known.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: myspaceaddict ()
Date: March 06, 2007 04:02PM

As for Former HOA President thoughts on cross plating... the only time county police can ticket vehicles for cross plating, expired plates, or no plates, is when the vehicle is parked on the street. If the vehicle is parked in the driveway of this problem house the PD can't enforce anything, that's private property.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: pickles ()
Date: March 06, 2007 05:03PM

Call zoning in the county and they will do research on the property.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: mamabean ()
Date: March 06, 2007 05:28PM

Thanks for the link. I followed it, backtracked to a higher level page, and found a Zoning Requirements FAQ that said that the Zoning Ordinance states that you are limited to no more than 1 dwelling unit per lot. A dwelling unit is defined as an independent living facility and furthermore, an apartment built in the basement of a house IS considered a violation of this ordinance unless it qualified for an exception. I haven't found what qualifies as an "exception," but I'm willing to bet that my neighbor's house doesn't qualify.

You can have up to 2 roomers or boarders, or you can have up to 4 unrelated people functioning as a SINGLE houskeeping unit.

I wish I could do an anonymous complaint, but the form has required fields for the complainant's contact information. They state specifically that anonymous complaints will NOT be accepted.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: ffxn8v ()
Date: March 06, 2007 07:12PM

mamabean Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You can have up to 2 roomers or boarders, or you
> can have up to 4 unrelated people functioning as a
> SINGLE houskeeping unit.
>
> I wish I could do an anonymous complaint, but the
> form has required fields for the complainant's
> contact information. They state specifically that
> anonymous complaints will NOT be accepted.
_________________________________________________________


Now, the million - dollar question - WHAT THE HECK does "single housekeeping unit" mean, and how does this translate to the matter at hand?

Nowhere can I find this defined!

If you have an HOA, task THEM with filing the report on your behalf, as this may be termed as a "nuisance" in your HOA Docs.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Former HOA President ()
Date: March 06, 2007 09:48PM

ffxn8v Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mamabean Wrote:

>
> Now, the million - dollar question - WHAT THE HECK
> does "single housekeeping unit" mean, and how does
> this translate to the matter at hand?


Actually, a "single house keeping unit" is defined by how the house seems to operate. Two full size refridgerators one marked "Smith" and the other "Jones" would be a clue. How many sets of dishes and where they are stored, a locked door to the basement apartment would be another. While these are extreme examples, I hope you get the point.

Also, while it is arguable whether the police can take the tags off of cross plated vehicles in a private driveway - if it is in plain view, Fairfax County will probably just do it. I know there is a precedent setting lawsuit in another county, but Fairfax seems to be acting as business as usual.

And yes, if it is on a public street, (or your HOA, if it is private property owned by the HOA) has sent a letter to the police giving them permission to patrol your private street then they can come and issue tickets and take plates.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: ffxn8v ()
Date: March 06, 2007 10:00PM

Former HOA President Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ffxn8v Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > mamabean Wrote:
>
> >
> > Now, the million - dollar question - WHAT THE
> HECK
> > does "single housekeeping unit" mean, and how
> does
> > this translate to the matter at hand?
>
>
> Actually, a "single house keeping unit" is defined
> by how the house seems to operate. Two full size
> refridgerators one marked "Smith" and the other
> "Jones" would be a clue. How many sets of dishes
> and where they are stored, a locked door to the
> basement apartment would be another. While these
> are extreme examples, I hope you get the point.


___________________________________________________________

o.k., so I have three friges in my home, but it is just for my wife and two children - if a house down the road has 1 fridge but 5 unrelated people living in it, how can this be enforced?

Knocking on the door, they may say one is visiting, etc.

This certainly presents itself as a potential (growing) problem for this county - especially as the cost of living rises,,,

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: former HOA President ()
Date: March 07, 2007 10:03AM

ffxn8v Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Former HOA President Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ffxn8v Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > mamabean Wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Now, the million - dollar question - WHAT THE
> > HECK
> > > does "single housekeeping unit" mean, and how
> > does
> > > this translate to the matter at hand?
> >
> >
> > Actually, a "single house keeping unit" is
> defined
> > by how the house seems to operate. Two full
> size
> > refridgerators one marked "Smith" and the other
> > "Jones" would be a clue. How many sets of
> dishes
> > and where they are stored, a locked door to the
> > basement apartment would be another. While
> these
> > are extreme examples, I hope you get the point.
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> _________
>
> o.k., so I have three friges in my home, but it is
> just for my wife and two children - if a house
> down the road has 1 fridge but 5 unrelated people
> living in it, how can this be enforced?
>
> Knocking on the door, they may say one is
> visiting, etc.
>
> This certainly presents itself as a potential
> (growing) problem for this county - especially as
> the cost of living rises,,,


Again, the inspectors will take the clues and draw a conclusion. People can make all sorts of excuses. If complaints are made that the house is overcrowded and the resident claims people are "just visiting" the inspector decides if they most likely lying. And yes it will be a lot of circumstantial evidence. But if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: dumbass ()
Date: March 11, 2007 04:00PM

By county zoning ordinance, I believe the 2nd kitchen in the basement is a violation that would warrant action on their part.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: ... ()
Date: March 12, 2007 01:52PM

Former HOA President Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sub basement apartments without
> a separate entrance/exit are frowned upon.

New statewide building codes require finished basements to have an emergency exit. Either a window that opens up and is large enough to crawl through with a ladder to ground level installed in the "well", or a door to the outside.

See: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/navbar/faqs/basement.htm

Note: These requirements are statewide.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: ... ()
Date: March 12, 2007 01:57PM

ffxn8v Wrote:
> just for my wife and two children - if a house
> down the road has 1 fridge but 5 unrelated people
> living in it, how can this be enforced?

How is the code enforcement officer to know if people aren't related when they claim they are?

This is a problem that they face.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: March 12, 2007 05:26PM

The enforcement officer won't know on the spot but the County could always demand documentation for further review. It isn't that hard to diagram a relation tree based on submitted birth certificates, plus documentation of any in-between relatives (to account for cousins with different last names) not living in the household for followup.

Or just give them 30 days notice that they are going to be heavily fined unless they can prove they are in compliance. Yeah guilty until proven innocent but that's how traffic tickets work.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: March 12, 2007 05:47PM

... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Former HOA President Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Sub basement apartments without
> > a separate entrance/exit are frowned upon.
>
> New statewide building codes require finished
> basements to have an emergency exit. Either a
> window that opens up and is large enough to crawl
> through with a ladder to ground level installed in
> the "well", or a door to the outside.
>
> See:
> http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/navbar/faqs/bas
> ement.htm
>
> Note: These requirements are statewide.


Well, an important note there is that its only requrired for new construction or remodeling. My neighbor had to do that when he finished his basement, but mine was finished before the law and so i dont have one. Guess im in trouble if al queda attacks my house or my heater blows up.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: ... ()
Date: March 12, 2007 06:02PM

pgens Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The enforcement officer won't know on the spot but
> the County could always demand documentation for
> further review.
>
> Or just give them 30 days notice that they are
> going to be heavily fined unless they can prove
> they are in compliance. Yeah guilty until proven
> innocent but that's how traffic tickets work.

In practice, the ACLU would come down on the local jurisdiction like a ton of bricks if they ever tried anything like this.

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Re: Single-family home conversion
Posted by: Enough already ()
Date: September 09, 2020 05:58PM

.

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