Rent a room vs Roommate?

Question

I recently found myself living alone in a fairly large house. I decided to look into house hacking and renting out the rooms upstairs. I called my city office to ask if there were any permits or inspections that needed to be done before renting. I was told flat out that you cannot rent out rooms.

So, is there any legal difference between getting roommates vs renting out a couple of rooms? I see rooms listed for rent in the same town online. Not sure how to approach this. Has anyone run into townships that do not allow renting out rooms?

Deanna McCormick · Answer

Depending on what you asked and whom you spoke to makes a difference in your answers.

Usually if the house is OWNER occupied, their is usually no issue to you having a tenant / roommate.

if the house is not owner occupied then no to renting out rooms,,  it's usually not zoned Multi use and room rental is not an option..to individuals all separate leases but sharing common areas.

Can you rent out house,, to multiple people set of like 3 people all on one lease.. Depends on your zoning.. and if you'd be required to have a rental license..

So I'd suggest you download your state landlord tenant laws..

Check on line first with your city to see and look at rental license requirements, zoning, then call and talk to someone that is rental license division and ask again.