The Boston Herald ran a story today that had me laughing. The reporting is a bit all over the place but here is the gist of what’s happening with this ordinance.

Residents of Allston, Brighton, & Mission Hill were tired of listening to parties held by their college student neighbors. So the residents complained to their city councilors and the mayor; who in return passed an ordinance limiting the amount of students who can live together in one apartment (4 or less as undergrads) to keep their constituents happy and themselves in office.

Here’s the funny part, the Inspectional Service Department, who you would expect to be the evil executioner of this law has held off for a variety of reasons (as reported by the Hearld):

Because the law was changed in the middle of the school year, the Inspectional Services Department delayed enforcement until this September to give landlords time to comply.

Several property owners have sued the city in Land Court over the rule, spurring ISD to take a cautious approach.

Federal privacy laws prohibit colleges and universities from disclosing where students live.

ISD asked landlords leasing units in violation of the new law to notify the city in return for a grace period for compliance, but no one responded.

“Folks are not giving us the information unless we catch them in the act,” said Assistant Commissioner Dion Irish, who oversees housing inspections for ISD. “It can be a bit of a cat and mouse game.”

If I had to make an educated guess, I would think Mr. Irish is concerned with the federal discrimination laws and is waiting to see how the courts rule on this ordinance before he goes into full enforcement mode.

File this one as another useless ordinance by the city council and the mayor.

Filed under: Boston Landlord Tips and Advice