Room Rental Lease Agreements
Renting a room in your home can be an easy way to reduce home costs or make extra money off the unused space. Most states have specific room rental laws to follow when you establish a lease agreement. The laws vary from state to state, but the same overall guidelines apply to a residential rental situation.
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Legality
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No state restricts the right of a home owner to rent out rooms, but local ordinances may restrict or prohibit room rental. Your state's landlord and tenant laws only apply to room rentals if the home is owner-occupied, the room is in sole possession of the tenant, and no services such as cleaning are provided. Room rentals in non-owner-occupied homes and room rentals that include housekeeping services are usually considered boarding homes or hotel rentals, covered under your state's contract law.
Lease Terms
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Room rental agreements are legally binding documents containing all lease terms, rules and regulations for the landlord-tenant relationship. The landlord provides landlord and tenant names and addresses, the address of the home the room is located in and all payments. Room rental agreements also define what the common areas of the home are, along with permitted uses of the common area. Rental rules are contained in the lease terms and the length of the lease.
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Sharing Access
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One of the most important lease terms in a room rental agreement is the rules for sharing access in common areas. This might be a simple term detailing hours of use, keeping the common area clean, and use of equipment or supplies in the common area. It can get complicated when you are renting out multiple rooms in a home, so it's important to make the rules as clear as possible.
Entry
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The landlord's right of entry is taken from your state's landlord and tenant laws. These laws restrict the landlord's ability to enter the room while it is under the tenant's possession. Most state statutes require advance notice or express consent by the tenant to enter the room. The reasons for entry are also limited to repairs, maintenance, inspection and abandonment.
Termination
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Terminating a room rental lease agreement follows the same process as terminating an apartment rental. The exact process varies from state to state. The first step is delivering a notice of termination to the tenant. Leases cannot be terminated without cause before the end of the lease term. Terminations for cause include nonpayment of rent and lease term violations. Different notice periods are used in each situation. Nonpayment causes are usually the shortest, followed by lease violations. A landlord terminating a room rental lease on a week-to-week or month-to-month tenancy gives notice equal to a full rental period. Longer lease terms usually terminate automatically unless renewal clauses are written in to the lease.
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References
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