Full question:
One or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that, unless all members are related by blood or marriage, no such family shall contain over two unrelated persons, but further provided that one domestic servant employed on the premises may be housed on the premises without being counted as a separate family. My question is, if I have three unrelated persons living in a single dwelling unit, and one of the three persons is an employed domestic servant living on the premises, does this violate the statement above? Please explain.
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Subcategory: Lease Violation
- Date:
- State: Pennsylvania
Answer:
The statement is not entirely clear, as it would be more precise to say that a domestic servant may be housed on the premises without being counted as separate FROM family. Therefore, there is room for misinterpretation. It appears to be the intent to make a domestic servant living on the premises exempt from the restrictions against unrelated tenants residing in the dwelling, but I am prohibited from giving a legal opinion, as this service provides information of a general legal nature. I suggest seeking a written clarification from the landlord. Otherwise, it is possible it may be a matter of subjective interpretation by the court, based om all the facts and circumstances involved. In some cases where contract terms are vague, a court will allow the use of evidence outside the contract document to aid in intreting the intent of the parties, as long as such evidence doesn't contradict the contract terms. The general rules of contract law follow a hierarchy of evidence when determining the terms of a vague or incomplete contract, as follows:
a) The terms stated in the discussions and writings exchanged by the parties that don't contradict the contract terms;
b) Terms implied by the current and past conduct of the parties;
c) Terms implied by industry custom and practice; and
d) Terms implied by applicable law, i.e., damages for breach, liability for negligence, jurisdiction and venue, etc.
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