Renting out an inlaw apartment... legally?

[Mike Curadossi]

Hello all,

I will be looking at a single family property (4br- 2 ba) that I plan on rehabbing, renting and refinancing in a few hours and it has a large two car detached garage with a legal inlaw apartment above it.  

Question is... Can I rent the 4br house out and then rent the inlaw apartment out to someone else legally?  

I am sure there are some creative ways to structure the lease to make it work???  Looking to avoid possible issues when I go to refinance and get insurance.  Wouldn't want something to happen and leave myself open to get sued for illegally renting the inlaw apartment. 

Also need to know if I can use the projected rent in my numbers going into the deal to make sure it meets my criteria.

Thanks in advance for all of the help.

Mike

[Jean Bolger]

What is the zoning? I rented out an in-law apartment for years, but it was in a residential area that was zoned to allow "accessory units"