Defendants appeal as of right from an order entered in Oakland County Circuit Court granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. The judgment upheld the validity of a restrictive covenant and enjoined defendant Preston from using his residence as an adult foster care facility.
Plaintiff Charter Township of Waterford had intervened in the matter in an effort to enforce its zoning ordinance, but withdrew by stipulation of the parties due to the passage of MCL 125.286a; MSA 5.2963(16a) which provides that a state licensed residential facility providing supervision or care, or both, to six or fewer persons is a residential use of property for the purpose of zoning and a permitted use in all residential zones including those zoned for signle family dwellings.1
The covenant in the deed to the property in question reads as follows:
"Jayno Heights Subdivision No. 1, shall be used for residential purposes exclusively, and no more than one single family dwelling house, with usual outbuilding for use in connection therewith, shall be erected or constructed on any lot in said subdivision and any residence so constructed shall be occupied by not more than one single family unit.”
*446The record reveals that defendant Preston built a single family dwelling house on a lot in the subdivision and then leased the property to defendants Evans and Goldsworthy. Defendants Evans and Goldsworthy then used the property to provide a home for elderly women. They are licensed under the Adult Foster Care Facility Licensing Act, MCL 331.681 et seq.; MSA 16.610(1) et seq.
On appeal, defendant contends that the restrictive covenant at issue has been complied with in that the occupants of the residence constitute one single family unit under Michigan law.
"The word 'family’ is one of great flexibility. In Carmichael v Northwestern Mutual Benefit Ass’n, 51 Mich 494, [16 NW 871 (1883)], it was said by Chief Justice Graves, speaking for the Court:
" 'Now this word "family,” contained in the statute, is an expression of great flexibility. It is applied in many ways. It may mean the husband and wife having no children and living alone together, or it may mean children, or wife and children, or blood relatives, or any group constituting a distinct domestic or social body. It is often used to denote a small select corps attached to an army chief, and has even been extended to whole sects, as in the case of the Shakers.
" 'We discover nothing in the statute implying a narrow sense, and we should not be inclined to attribute one where the result would cause injustice.’ ” Boston-Edison Protective Association v The Paulist Fathers, Inc, 306 Mich 253, 259; 10 NW2d 847 (1943).
The Court in Boston-Edison, supra, construed a restrictive covenant which stated that "[t]he said party of the second part (she) shall not use or occupy said lots except for a single dwelling house and dwelling house purposes only.” Boston-Edison Protective Association, supra, at 256. The Court held that use of a six bedroom home by five priests *447of the Paulist Fathers for private residential purposes did not violate the restrictive covenant.
However, Boston-Edison and its definition of family does not apply here.
The restrictive covenant in the instant case specifically limits the occupation of the residence to not more than one single family unit. The restrictive covenant in Boston-Edison is silent in respect to who shall occupy the dwelling.
Moreover, the dwelling at issue in the instant case is being used for commercial purposes2 while the Paulist Fathers in Boston-Edison made no commercial use of their residence. There is nothing in the record to indicate that the residents of the property at issue are anything more than a group of unrelated individuals sharing a common roof. Accordingly, we cannot conclude that the property in this case is being used by a single family unit.
Defendants also argue that public policy forbids the enforcement of the restrictive covenant. Defendants direct us to the recent change in the township zoning act which defines adult foster care facilities as single family residences for purposes of zoning ordinances. MCL 125.286a; MSA 5.2963(16a). While this statute certainly expresses public policy, the Michigan Supreme Court has held that definitions employed in housing codes and zoning ordinances do not control the interpretation of restrictive covenants. Phillips v Lawler, 259 Mich 567; 244 NW 165 (1932), Morgan v Matheson, 362 Mich 535, 541; 107 NW2d 825 (1961), cf. Karpenko v Southfield, 75 Mich App 188, 193, n 3; 254 NW2d 839 (1977).
*448In addition, the township zoning act, supra, is expressly directed towards zoning restrictions, not private restrictive covenants.
"In order to implement the policy of this state that persons in need of community residential care shall not be excluded by zoning from the benefits of normal residential surroundings, a state licensed residential facility providing supervision or care, or both, to 6 or less persons shall be considered a residential use of property for the purposes of zoning and a permitted use in all residential zones, including those zoned for single family dwellings, and shall not be subject to a special use or conditional use permit or procedure different from those required for other dwellings of similar density in the same zone.” (Emphasis supplied.) MCL 125.286a(2); MSA 5.2963(16a)(2).
A careful reading of the statute reveals that the Legislature did not intend to impinge upon the enforcement of private deed restrictions. Private deed restrictions are contractual rights and should not be impaired by state legislative action absent the lawful exercise of the police power. See Spitzer v Brown, 305 Mich 455; 9 NW2d 673 (1943).
We find no such exercise of the police power by the Legislature in respect to private restrictive covenants. We also note that private residential restrictions, if established by proper instruments, are favored by public policy. See Oosterhouse v Brummel, 343 Mich 283; 72 NW2d 6 (1955).
This Court does not believe that the public policy in favor of providing adult foster care facilities, under the facts of this case, outweighs the public policy favoring the rights of property owners to restrict the use of their property to single family dwellings occupied by single family units.
Affirmed. Costs to plaintiffs.
*449R. M. Maher, P. J., concurred.MCL 125.286a; MSA 5.2963(16a).
Defendants admit that the residents pay for various domestic services as well as rent and further admit that defendant Preston receives lease payments from defendants Evans and Goldsworthy at the rate of $6,000 per year.