The 2nd Amendment is something that many Americans take very seriously. The “Right to Bear Arms” extends to everyone in the country who isn’t a convicted felon.
But, if you live in an apartment building, and the landlord doesn’t want ANYONE to have guns on the property, can he ban you from having a gun?
Yes, in almost all states, a landlord can ban their tenants from keeping a gun on their property because it is considered “Private Property”.
The owner of the private property is considered by the law to set up the rules by which people operate on their land.
There are exceptions to this rule, which we will go over. Also, this comes down to a “State’s Rights” issue. Some states are going to have addressed this problem directly, and some are going to have let the landlord’s choice to handle their own property themselves.
The federal government has stayed out of this issue completely, aside from public housing matters, to allow the states to decide for themselves what to do on the matter.
Can Apartments Prohibit Firearms?
If your state hasn’t directly and explicitly addressed in its laws the issue of gun ownership in apartments and what authority the landlord has over their complex, then by default, the authority goes to the discretion of the landlord.
So, think about it this way. If your state doesn’t have a law that says you CAN have a gun in your apartment no matter what your landlord says, then you technically have to ask your landlord whether or not they allow guns on their property.
Some landlords believe that if they prohibit guns on their property that it will lead to less potential violence and gun violence. While this point is debatable and has statistics on both sides of that ideological debate which is interesting to talk about and discuss, that isn’t what this article is about.
We are JUST talking about the current laws, how they apply to a tenant’s right to own a gun, and what a landlord can and cannot prohibit on their own property.
Now, keep this in mind, no matter if a landlord can prevent you from keeping or carrying a gun on their property, they CANNOT prevent you, or anyone else, from buying and owning a gun.
Think of it like smoking. A landlord, nor anyone else, can PREVENT or FORBID you from smoking or buying cigarettes or vaping. That is your right as a legal aged adult.
What a landlord or other people with private property CAN say, is that you can’t smoke on their property or in their buildings.
It is a very similar situation.
As an American, nobody can stop you from buying and owning a gun. However, if you go into a contract with another person, on their personal private property, then you must abide by the rules and regulations that they set down in the agreement.
In this case, that agreement is the lease. Both you and they agreed to and signed to the terms in the lease agreement. Having guns on the property is something that both needs to be laid out specifically in the lease and talked about beforehand to ensure that there is no miscommunication or situation regarding that.
If the lease doesn’t have it laid out explicitly in the lease, that still doesn’t mean that the landlord can’t forbid you from keeping guns on his property. Those rights still fall to him. You can own a gun; you just can’t keep it on their property.
Again, there are some exceptions to this rule, which we will go over below.
Do I Have To Tell My Landlord I Have A Gun?
This is a much more interesting question to discuss and elaborate on.
The first question to consider is, “Why would you?”
Think about it. If you have a gun for personal protection in your apartment, then keeping it there and keeping it safe and out of sight should be no big deal whatsoever.
If you are the type of person who is going to stuff it down the front of their pants and walk around all the common areas pointing to it, then you are going to be evicted no matter what the gun policy at the apartment complex is.
SHOULD you tell your landlord? I mean, technically, yeah, you should. As a landlord myself, I don’t particularly want people strolling around the common areas with a gun. If my tenants have a gun, and keep it in their apartment, and aren’t waving it around showing it to everyone making a scene, I could care less. If they have one in their apartment that I don’t know about, then I don’t know about it.
While it may seem weird for a landlord to say this, telling your landlord you HAVE a gun can open up more questions and scrutiny that it’s worth. If you are a peace-loving member of society, then there is going to be no problem with you anyways.
If you aren’t a peace-loving member of society, you aren’t going to pay attention to what I am saying here anyways.
AGAIN, if you are the type of person who is responsible and has it for the right reasons, personal protection, and sport shooting, then the landlord isn’t going to find out about it.
If you are displaying it prominently and making a scene or threats or anything else, then you are going to have the police called AND be evicted. Because no landlord wants that type of behavior, or those types of people, in their complex disturbing the peace.
I’m sure that my tenants have MANY things inside their apartment that I don’t know about and they don’t want me to know about. But if they carry them into their apartment and nobody sees, then unless they are REALLY irresponsible, nobody is going to find out or care.
Finally, there are always crime and non-violence stipulations in the lease. If a crime is committed, then they are going to have to answer for it regardless of whether or not they own a gun or not. The other tenants are protected by the laws of this country above and beyond all else.
What States Can I Own A Gun In An Apartment?
Most states haven’t directly addressed the matter of whether or not a landlord can prohibit someone from possessing a gun on their property, and whether or not that prohibition would infringe on their constitutional rights.
Gun owners are not considered a “protected class” which means that the landlord can’t get in trouble for denying someone an apartment on the basis of them owning a gun.
The landlord has rights on his own property that extend to himself as the property owner first and foremost. The tenant, while having his place of residence on the property, is still considered not superior to the rights of the actual landlord.
A few states HAVE addressed this issue, but only a few. Most don’t want to get between the rights of the landowner, which is the landlord, and their rights on their own property.
In OHIO, unless you have a concealed carry permit, the landlord can ban guns from the property. This basically means that it is up to the landlord to decide yes or no unless the person in question has a license to carry, which then allows them to have the gun whether or not the landlord wants them to have them or not.
In VIRGINIA, if the landlord is the manager of public housing or a place that gets a majority of their funding from public housing, then the landlord CANNOT prohibit a person from owning and keeping a gun on the property.
In MINNESOTA, landlords cannot prohibit people from owning guns at their apartment complex or other property. This means that the gun owner has rights that supersede the landlord’s in Minnesota.
In TENNESSEE however, a landlord can prohibit a tenant from keeping a gun on their property, or in the complex, if the landlord so desires. This desire MUST be stated in the lease, however for it to be applicable to the tenant.
The rest of the states, the law comes down on the side of the landlord, because he is the property owner. Their rights come before the people that are staying on it.
Essentially, while it IS a state’s rights issue, most states don’t want to get involved in this particular fight.
Again, it is up to the landlord, and what state you live in to determine what rights you have.
Can You Own A Gun In HUD Housing?
You CAN own a gun at HUD or other publicly-funded housing.
This is because when the government steps in to provide housing with public money, they are essentially bringing the 2nd Amendment, as well as all other fair housing issues into play. So, people that are living in government-assisted housing have the right to own a gun and keep it in their apartment.
HOWEVER, even though this is a law that the landlord cannot supersede, the landlord CAN make, and enforce the policy, that states that the tenant can own a gun as long as it is kept in their property and out of sight.
They can also prohibit the gun from being shown or displayed or carried in common areas of the apartment complex.
Once you go back to the private landlord, then the landlord maintains all the rights again he would normally on his own property. The distinction here is whether or not the landlord is a HUD manager or has anything to do with the funding that comes from the public.
What Can A Landlord Do If They Find Out I Have A Gun?
If you are in one of the states that permits you to own and possess a gun in your apartment regardless of the wishes of the landlord, then you are fully permitted to do this.
If you are NOT in one of those specially protected states, then your landlord can choose to evict you or not evict you.
And of course, in publicly funded housing, you are permitted to owning and possessing the gun in your apartment as long as you don’t bring it down to the common areas of the complex.
Now, if your landlord is going to give you grief for having a firearm in your apartment because they found out about it somehow, either through a neighbor or some other way, it is going to help the landlord out much more in his case to evict you if he has the gun prohibition written out explicitly in the lease agreement.
The landlord can STILL evict you if they want to or have cause, it is just going to be easier for them to do so if it is stated in the lease.
If you are the tenant that owns the gun and aren’t doing anything with it besides sports shooting and home protection, more than likely you aren’t going to have a big deal with the landlord about it.
However, if your landlord happens to be anti-2nd amendment rights, they may try to evict you immediately or force you to get rid of your gun.
How they are going to prove you don’t have a gun is going to be another issue.
It’s not like they can force you to allow them to come and go through all of your possessions with a fine-toothed comb whenever they want. And I mean, get real, you could always just keep it in your car while they come over to do the inspection and then just bring it right back inside.
Because of this reality, the landlord is either going to evict you or they are going to hear out the reasons why you are a responsible gun owner and let you have it.
Suggestions About What To Do About This Situation
While I am not going to go as far as to say, “Just lie to your landlord”, I would say that there is an element of common sense that the tenant must have while looking out for their own interests.
The best advice I could give to tenants would be this: Life is easier with fewer problems.
This means, don’t create problems for yourself. Don’t create a potential problem with your landlord, don’t create a potential problem with your neighbors, and don’t create a potential problem with random guests that show up.
YOU must be conscientious about every one of these situations if you are going to keep a gun in your apartment anyway. The best thing to do is to be a great tenant. Do anything else, and you are going to have more problems than just with the landlord.
Yes, outside of a couple of states which we went over above, and the exception of publicly funded housing, your landlord is considered the ultimate owner and decider of the rules on their property, so they have the right to ban guns in your apartment.
While you ALWAYS maintain your 2nd Amendment right to own and bear arms, when you are on someone else’s property, you must abide by the rules they set forth. You may be able to own several guns, but not allowed to bring them on to your landlord’s property.
Read your lease agreement before you sign it, or at least before you make a purchase of a gun to see what it says about gun possession at the complex. Also, look at the states we have outlined above.
Do you live in one of those states? If so, you may be able to keep a firearm in your apartment with no hassle whatsoever.
Whatever you do, the best advice is to limit your potential for problems and issues, both with your landlord and other people.
