Getting started with rent by the room

[Jared Sliwinski]

I’m looking to buy my first rental property and would love to buy a single family home and rent it out by the room. Just looking for advice on how to find the legality of it in my nearby cities. I’ve tried to look up municipal codes online in regards to rent by the room and limits on unrelated people living in the same home and have had no luck. I reached out to local zoning departments and one told me it would have to be re classified as a boarding home and or a multi family dwelling. Another told me their city does not allow rent by the room. Any advice is appreciated!

[Jaron Walling]

@Jared Sliwinski Are you living in the property? If so you can rent rooms to anyone and nobody can stop you. I rented a room to my brother for 2 years when I bought and remodeled my first property. 

If you're not planning to live in the property you can still offer rent by the room. I'd be shocked if Youngstown, OH has regulations regarding this. Every tenant would have there own lease stating the rules and responsibilities for BOTH parties. I've always compared rent-by-room to student housing. During my time in college I never lived on campus and rented four different houses with roommates. We all signed leases individually and the landlords never had special zoning or permits. If one of the roommates (tenants) moved out the others had to cover the difference in rent or find a replacement tenant. The person moving out also have the option to find a replacement. 

Rent-by-the-room is a great strategy in this market. It provides housing when we have limited supply, it's a good way to find tenants and make friends, and it produces a great ROI (if managed correctly) because the rental income is generally higher. If you live in the property it's basically a house hack. It's a win-win for anyone with flexibility in there life. Best of luck man.