room Renting - Legal issues?

**Lee Billing** · 11-13-2009 05:37 PM

Hi All,

Im looking into renting a room in my house amonst other things (and to earn some needed cash for a business), but my legal experience isnt too hot. Are there any legal stipulations on renting out a room in my house. i know theres a limit to how much i could make tax free, but anything i would need to consider if i was to advertise my room and rent.

thanks

**BrendanMcGann** · 11-13-2009 09:24 PM

try legalzoom.com

**Encrypted** · 11-14-2009 01:31 PM

That's definitely something you don't want to mess around with. You don't want your room getting trashed and then getting screwed over. Definitely see a lawyer and have them write you up a legal agreement for whomever is going to rent the room.

**LSnyder** · 11-16-2009 10:20 AM

Do you own the house you are living in or rent? If you are a renter, you would want to make sure your lease does not have a stipulation stating you cannot sub-lease.

**Lee Billing** · 11-16-2009 02:24 PM

thanks for the comments everyone.

Lisa, its an owned house by me, all im looking to find out is whether there would be any legal documents needed if people stayed short term, not really a lease or agreed amount of time. For example if you were in the UK for a week and looking to stay somewhere near the area you are travelling to, for a much less cost of a hotel, and basically for a room and a shower, thats it basically. Anything stopping me doing this?? or something that could make it overly complicated if they found my room online.

thanks.

**LSnyder** · 11-16-2009 02:45 PM

in my personal opinion you would be considered a landlord and depending on where you live you would need to abide the landlord/tenant laws. You can google landlord tenant laws + your state and research this. Best be would probably be to do the research and draw up contracts accordingly. Have an attorney review it. Protect yourself.

good luck.

**e-roc** · 11-16-2009 03:39 PM

You mentioned that you want to earn up some money for a "business". Doesnt matter what you want it for. I had 2 roommates and i used that income for more bar money, ;-) Its basically beside the point...

Unless the business is in property management industry. Then techincally you are already in the business, and you would do well for yourself in understanding how to use your home as a business expense and deduct the maintenance costs and depreciation.

The 2 tenants i had were good acquaintances and i didnt charge them a lot, so i never claimed that income. The threshold i believe you are inquiring about is $600.00 if i recall correctly. I had more than $600.00 come in, but i didnt report it because the depreciation that i could have claimed alone would have completely wiped out the gains from a taxing perspective. Which could have easily been proven in event of audit.

As far as tenant/landlord relationships... It is certainly worth your while to understand the state laws that govern those relationships in your state. If you do not personally know these people, you have the right to request a credit report. If they dont have sufficient credit, or are complete sh*theads, you can require a cosigner. A good way to weed out bad applicants is to list that a credit app is required. Also be sure to list that a security deposit is required. These are legal forms of discrimination. Be sure that your ad supports that you are seeking roommates, which will allow you to be more picky. But if you are advertising "available housing", that has to be equal opportunity.
If you want to go the route of the credit report, you will want to get a credit auth signed by the applicant. And , you can make your lease whatever you want it to say, as long as it is in line with the state laws. You may be able to source some free templates online. There are a lot of clauses in those leases that seem redundant, but they are in there for a reason. We loved to party at that house, and those tenants were all about it. But in my lease, it specifically stated that there were not to be any parties, drug use, etc.... And that they were responsible for all guests and guests of guests. They also needed to carry their own renters insurance coverage if they wanted coverage on their belongings.

but, for a general rule of thumb... Those who cant afford a security deposit, tend to not care one bit about the security of your property. And these people are everywhere.

**rdc** · 11-17-2009 01:37 AM

I would agree with Ms. Snyder... best thing you can do for yourself is look into your state's landlord/tenant laws... that's going to be the major chunk of issues to plan for.

I don't know of special laws in the UK in regard to advertising tenancy... But in the US, the concept that would generally come to mind is this: if you are setting up very short-term stays at a systematic level, you might begin to resemble a hotel/hostel/whatever. While it's doubtful that any strong regulations would apply to you then, you might be considered by some to be running a "business" rather than providing a residential lease/sublease. In that case, it would be advisable to become compliant with local licenses required for operating such a business.

Lastly, you should educate yourself on potential liabilities associated with the property... e.g., if you are negligent in maintaining the property, and someone is injured, you could be liable.