Question About The Guests Clause in My Lease

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I won't go into the whole nightmare here, but the short version is that my mother and two brothers have been staying in my new apartment since March. There is a clause in the lease agreement that says:

GUESTS. You may have overnight guests for no more than two (2) consecutive nights or three (3) nights within a seven (7) day period, and no more than two overnight guests at a time unless we provide specific approval. You must obtain our prior written consent to change Residents or add additional Occupants within the Residence.

Now, I know I'm in violation of this. But how would they know? Don't they need proof before they can do anything? Like a LEGAL definition of proof? How do they tell the difference between visitors and people living with you?

I'm no expert in these matters, but I can answer your last question. The difference between a guest and a resident is that the resident has the management's permission to live there. Everyone else is a guest.

Yes, that would be the difference between a guest and a resident. But that's not what is in question. What is in question is how they determine if a person actually lives in the residence. Management cannot dictate what hours your visitors can be there. And if they tried, I doubt they would have many tenants. By the logic used by this particular property manager, if she herself stepped into my apartment she would instantly be defined as living there.

My point is that unless management is engaged in some criminal stalking, they can't determine if a person leaving or entering the apartment is living there or visiting the person living there. It is based on nothing. It can't be enforced and can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.