HOA and renting by room single family. How is it even possible???

[Alex Bush]

Hi, I am very puzzled. I am researching on how I can rent out single family houses by the room but it seems like every single HOA rules and regulations prohibits this. I'm in Houston TX area.

As far as I can tell every HOA document has something like this one form or another:

The term "single family residential purposes" also shall be defined as: (1) one or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, which may include only parents and their dependent children, siblings, parents or grandparents; or (2) by no more than two unrelated persons living together as a single housekeeping unit and their dependent children, siblings, parents or grandparents.

See Article III Section 3.1 here as an example: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AneU_VTSiG...

I'm reading this as - you can have either one roommate if you live in a house yourself or you can have two different people rent out two rooms in your house but that's it, you can't say get a 5 br house and get 5 roommates in.

So I do not understand how people can possibly be renting out houses by the room but I keep hearing about on BP podcast and other places?? What about student housing??

I am not talking about STRs (short term rentals) - airbnb is a whole other can of worms and I understand that there are a lot more regulations and rules there on city and state level. But how come it seems to be so impossible to rent by the room without a hanging threat of HOA lien over your head?? How do other investors do it?

Thank you for any piece of advice and wisdom in advance!