Renting by room in Tacoma, WA legal issues, etc

[Erin Caldwell]

Hi everyone! 

I am super interested in buying homes to rent-per-room (individual leases) in Tacoma, WA. As many know, the Seattle region has a housing shortage, and I think this type of housing would be desirable for people who have steady jobs and good credit but can't afford to pay $1500/month for a 1 bedroom. From what I can calculate, I could make a ton more money than renting the entire house. I know, I know, there will be more management time involved but I think it would be worth the money. 

As far as my not-very-in-depth Google search has shown, I don't see any limitations or legal issues with renting per room on 3-6 month leases in Tacoma. I know there is an air-bnb restriction, but it looks like that's for super short term rentals....and you just need a permit for that. I don't want to jump into anything illegal.

Any insight?

Also, does anyone have experience with this sort of rental? 

[Ryan Evans]

I've got a buddy doing that in Tukwila very successfully. He includes nicely furnished common areas, netflix, monthly cleaning, etc. to be all inclusive and avoid tenant drama with not keeping clean. Seems to be very attractive for students and the like and definitely can charge a premium. But those are 5-6 bedroom houses as well. 

I'd definitely aim to be near a university as that will be the majority of folks in that market. I'm subleasing 2 rooms in my house in T-town for $500 a month. The tenants are great, but there wasn't a huge demand even at that price point so I'd be cautious. 

You might want to head down to the monthly RHA meeting in fife and they'll be able to answer any questions you've got as far as the legal stuff goes.