Rental Property Investor · Madrid, Spain · Member since 2014 · 134 posts · 18 votes
Is it legal to rent by the room in Medford Massachusetts or not?
I called the city, the district court, consumer housing, every department out there and no one can answer me. I will consult with a lawyer but I though I'll ask here first.
I know many are doing it here, the question is : is it legal?
"Is it legal to rent by the room in Medford Massachusetts or not?"
How do I .... (should be your prefix), not Is it ...
I've got 2 rentals that have multiple, unrelated roommates. I insist on a new Tenant at Will agreement each time someone moves out or in. Seems to work as long as you prescreen and they all get along.
Investor · Newton, IA · Member since 2012 · 89 posts · 39 votes
12y
I don't know about Medford, but here in Central Iowa I know of 4 properties rented by the room.
These properties are part of a community housing program that a local mental health program has. The individuals living in the house have assistance needs, so they have a staff on site 24 hours. That said, each client has their own room at $250 but share a main bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Clients each have labelled kitchen cabinets and their own linen closet shelf.
Not only is is legal, but its highly profitable for the landlord the company leases their housing from. Its much easier to squeeze an extra $25 per room from 4 people than $100 from one family.
"Is it legal to rent by the room in Medford Massachusetts or not?"
How do I .... (should be your prefix), not Is it ...
I've got 2 rentals that have multiple, unrelated roommates. I insist on a new Tenant at Will agreement each time someone moves out or in. Seems to work as long as you prescreen and they all get along.
Rental Property Investor · Madrid, Spain · Member since 2014 · 134 posts · 18 votes
12y
@Mike Hurney one more of your positive answers and I am gonna build a statue of you in my house !!! :) - you're right sir!
I know a lot of ppl are doing it but that doesn't mean it's legal. Once you read more about it there's a rooming license you need to get that comes w/ a lot of headaches !
So let me re-phrase : "How do I make it legal to rent by the room?"
also I am curious, but why TAW? I would assume that a 1 yr lease should set you up for less vacancy taking into account that you did the background check and rented for the right tenants.
Rental Property Investor · Madrid, Spain · Member since 2014 · 134 posts · 18 votes
12y
from MassLegalHelp:
"Whoever conducts a lodging house without a license shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred or more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or both."
SFR Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2009 · 184 posts · 55 votes
11y
Note most cities have a zoning law to the effect of "maximum number of unrelated adults per dwelling unit is X"
I think Denver is 2 per unit in the single unit zones and 6 per unit in two unit zones. Denver also has a limit to the number of cars, which is the number of legal adults plus one. A large family of driving age kids could therefore have like eleven cars.
But as others have said you are not describing a lodging house.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 804 posts · 230 votes
11y
In LA, there is no problem renting out room. I have either been a tenant and landlord in rooms for rent. City of LA and County of LA have both paid me to rent out rooms for their housing programs.
Wholesaler · Holiday, FL · Member since 2013 · 571 posts · 221 votes
11y
I'm not familiar with MA laws and I am more of a forgiveness-asker kind of guy. But when I was divorcing my first ex-wife I rented a room in a house. The owner and I lived in the 4BR house. He later said that he was going through a divorce and without his wife's income he couldn't afford the house and without his wife didn't want it anyway. One thing and another and we switched - I bought the house and he rented a room from me. After a month he moved in with some woman and so I advertised for a house-share and re-rented his room. A very nice girl and then another bedroom to her friend. I liked the money and so rented the third bedroom. Not too long after that one of the tenants asked if someone could stay with them. I said no but I'll rent them my room. I had met my future second ex-wife by that time anyway. <g>
So the four of them lived there and I stopped by to have a beer or stay for supper every Friday. It was all very casual and I hit on the idea of doing it over again. So I bought another house - a 3BR but my friend eventually built himself a room in the cellar - and advertised it as a house-share. I had "a room" but never actually stayed there and rented it last. I made quite a bit more than a single monthly rental would have but I have no idea if it was legal. I think it was unregulated - as a "house share" - so long as I actually lived there. When I moved out then I'm not sure how it would have been viewed. Things were more casual in general in those days.
Although I recently looked at a property in Florida, which was secluded but right next to a very upscale gated community, and the owners had an illegal duplex, three mobile homes and some ratty sheds here and there - all rented to various different people. Even the duplex was completely illegal - never permitted. Everyone paid cash and owners had apparently been successfully doing it for years. So maybe things are still casual in some places. <g>
BTW: Maybe you are asking the question wrong. Go back and ask: Is there any law or ordinance which would prohibit me from doing a house-share? I'd like to rent a room in my house.
Is it legal to rent by the room in Medford Massachusetts or not?
I called the city, the district court, consumer housing, every department out there and no one can answer me. I will consult with a lawyer but I though I'll ask here first.
I know many are doing it here, the question is : is it legal?
Rental Property Investor · Madrid, Spain · Member since 2014 · 134 posts · 18 votes
11y
I actually ended up asking the ISD about it and it's actually perfectly legal (although many people think it is not) as long as you have < 4 undergraduate students / or unrelated people staying in the unit and of course assuming the units is lega.