College students who are trying to save money are renting closets in homes and apartment buildings around Oakland University, breaking occupancy ordinances and creating fire hazards.

Authorities reported five incidents in the past year, enough to call it an ongoing problem that causes a fire hazard and puts other occupants of the dwelling in danger. There have been no reported fires, however.

The Auburn Hills zoning ordinance states that no more than two people can live in a single-family dwelling — either a rental home or apartment — who are not a “family unit.” A family unit is defined as a single family or a single boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, police Lt. James Manning said.

Students who violate the ordinance face eviction and a citation, said Auburn Hills Police Sgt. Michael O’Hala.

The hazard of extra residents living in closets or basements involves a lack of quick fire exits, said Josh Boyce, a fire inspector for the Auburn Hills Fire Department.

The illegal tenants also raise the risk of fire by having more belongings, which translates into “more accessible combustibles that wouldn’t normally be there,” Boyce said.

“There are several reasons we are addressing this,” O’Hala said, “one is safety and the other is quality of life issues.”

While it is not limited to the OU population, O’Hala said, students account for one third of the total residency for four of the major apartment complexes in the city.

Baker College and Oakland Community College students are amid the mix of renters, said Cpt. Mark Gordon of the Oakland University Police Department.

Zoning ordinance violations have been a problem for years, and “we saw an increase in the number of incidents involving students in 2009 and early 2010,” Manning said.

Homes in Auburn Hills that have received violations in the past include some on Shimmons, Dexter, Squirrel and Allerton roads and Cherryland Street, O’Hala said.

With the decline in the housing market, Manning said his department has seen a rise in the number of rental properties so the number of rental-home zoning violations has increased as well.

But, Manning said the number of incidents involving apartment complexes in the area continues to hold “a slight edge over the rental properties.”

O’Hala believes the driving force behind this type of violation is affordability.

“It’s clear that it’s more affordable for say, five or six people to split rent and utilities (costs) than it is for one or two people,” he said.

O’Hala said the penalty for violating the zoning ordinance is a municipal civil infraction.

Once the violation — having more than the legal number of residents in one location — has been determined, “the landlord or renter found to be in violation of the zoning ordinance is identified, they are advised of the fact and given a reasonable opportunity to comply with the ordinance,” he said. “If they fail to comply, a citation is issued and the landlord or renter is ordered to appear in court to answer the charges.”

Because the zoning ordinance violation can be deemed a local or state issue, “there is no set fine — it’s determined by a judge,” said Debbie Liponoga of the traffic department at Oakland County’s 52nd District Court, 3rd Division.

With repeat offenses, O’Hala said, “the court can take increasingly harsh penalties to alleviate the violations.”

The process for handling renter violations is the same for the landlord involved.

Beacon Hill Apartments, which has leased apartments since 1987, has had a good relationship with OU and its students, said Jim Torre, the apartment corporate sales director. Renters who do not comply with residency rules face eviction proceedings within 48 hours, Torre said.

“We do not actively search or inspect the homes or apartments to locate violations,” O’Hala said. “If we answer a call at a particular location and observe the violations, we address it at that time.”

To avoid the situation, O’Hala said, is as simple as knowing the zoning ordinance and its restrictions.