Character living in a Housing Project - Acquiring a Roommate?

stardustx

Dreaming about fictional characters
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I have a character living in an apartment in a housing project.
In the beginning of the story, she lets another character stay with her in her apartment - not all the time, but quite a lot, specifically off and on during the span of a few months, becoming her "roommate" in a sense.

Then I realized this might be a hard sell for a housing project - adding a roommate to your place. Can that work or is that possible?

Also, if it's not but I were to ignore that fact - would it make much of a difference for the story, or more importantly, the reader?


 

afarnam

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It might depend on where it is and if there are some specific regulations about it, but even if you think there would be regulations about not having roommates in a particular area, the question is whether or not whoever is supposed to monitor that is going to A. notice or B. be responsible enough at the job to care. I have known many people to illegally share apartments and even university dorms in various parts of the world. Especially among people without a lot of money, that sort of thing happens all the time and wouldn't even be considered a bit deal, although there might be a little discussion about being discrete. But in many places it would be no one's business and wouldn't even be against regulations.
 

snafu1056

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Just don't let Bookman find out and you'll be fine.
 

Kitty Pryde

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I know people who earn too much to live in subsidized housing, who have subsidized housing, who sublet it to other people who make too much to live in it. So yes. Probably against regulations but very plausible! Even if the neighbors were suspicious, you could say it was a boyfriend/girlfriend coming around.
 

melindamusil

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I knew a couple who lived in "subsidized housing"- they had to pay a (small) percentage of the rent, and the government picked up the rest. After they had their second baby, they were supposed to move into a larger apartment- regulations said no more than 3 people could live in the one bedroom apartments. But they kept their heads down, didn't tell their neighbors about the second baby, and the kid was nearly a year old before they figured out that there was another baby.