House Hacking without actually living there

[Zane M.]

Hello, I am 20 years old and trying to start with real estate. I want to house-hack a duplex but I am not ready to actually move out of my parent's house because of sick family members. I am looking to achieve a low down payment and renovate the portion of the home I would be "living in" over the year I am supposed to be residing there and essentially using that year to take my time with renovations as I am full time student and working full time. I am not sure I would ever actually sleep there or live there but the laws around this are confusing. Is this illegal?