Turning a 1 bedroom into a 3 bedroom

[Lisa Kattenhorn]

Hi everyone! 

I have a multifamily property that includes a two story unit.  One bedroom, bathroom and living room on the bottom floor of the unit.  The upper floor was an attic previously.  Right now it has one room that I believe could be considered a legal bedroom if I add a secondary means of egress (the prior landlord was using it as a bedroom already),  plus another large random room with a sink and toilet in it that could easily be turned into another bedroom.  My question is, before I spend the money to make any changes, how do I find out whether these can legally be considered bedrooms - ie proper ceiling height, size, etc.   Is there an agency I should talk to?  (This is in Rhode Island, if that matters.)  Also, do I need to notify the town that it is now a three bedroom unit?   Thanks for any advice.  I am pretty new at this!

Lisa

[Anthony Thompson]

@Lisa Kattenhorn I agree with @Mark Trebor - talk to the local building department. Chances are high that you'd have to pull permits for some of the work anyway, so best to involve them early in the process.

They will give you good information and potentially save you money. Much better to do that than not consult them at all, which many people do and they hate that :)

I would not notify the tax assessor separately as it would probably increase your taxes. They may or may not find out through some kind of building department - assessor office connection, but sooner or later the assessor will do a re-assessment and it will come up, and obviously at that point you would not be untruthful.

However I also don't see any need to proactively notify them of an increase in bedrooms as it will probably increase your taxes. (On the plus side, the reason for that is, you'll have increased the value of the property - so, yay!)