City tenant laws don’t reflect reality in homes

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I would like to make a comment about unrelated tenants affecting neighborhoods.

Years ago, in Omaha, Neb., I lived next door to a house occupied by eight unrelated seniors. They were pooling their money to pay the rent so they could live independently. Isn’t that clever?

Yet by current standards here in Bellingham it would be an illegal tenancy, and would probably aggravate the neighbors; the seniors tended to play their music a little loudly.

But it’s excusable, isn’t it, because a lot of older people have hearing problems.

Down the street from me is a family whose children like to scream while they’re playing. It’s aggravating but excusable, isn’t it, because they’re just children — and besides, the family owns the house, which evidently means they can make as much noise as they want to — they’re not “tenants”.

Let’s face it: Bellingham is growing, and people have to live somewhere.

The rental rates are astronomical, so it’s inevitable that people will share residences.

Unrelated tenancy doesn’t automatically mean nuisance, and homeownership doesn’t automatically guarantee good neighborship.

Hilary TerLouw
Bellingham

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