Some advice to you if you choose this route is read up on HUD Guidelines, code compliance and, of course, real estate.

No offense, but it's foolish to take something from the internet that may not be in compliance with your state laws.

An attorney won't be so much the best source of compliance requirements.

They also pay any & all maintenance costs including any building compliance issues arising from their occupancy & changes to the building.

and then out.You're out of compliance with code. 

I asked the Chicago building department if I could have tenants use space heaters to bring an apartment into heat ordinance compliance, and was told that I could not.

There will be compliance for you to prove that you're renting those units as affordably as you promised. 

., case law) that in practice the landlord must pay for water and sewer - s/he can try to pass the cost on to the tenant, but it is toothless because the landlord cannot allow the property to be without water and so must ensure it is never turned off (and if s/he allowed that to happen, then the tenant may not owe rent for that period and could even be entitled to damages if it was found to be part of a self-help eviction).Some RI general laws you may want to review are listed below, but like I said, you're really asking a legal question so unless you find an attorney willing to weigh in here for free (which would be awesome), you'll either have to ask one directly yourself (on your own dime), research the laws yourself, or be content with non-attorney opinions like mine.Anyway, here are some relevant laws and you'll also want to check out the RI Landlord Tenant Handbook which is basically a plain-language explanation of the most commonly encountered LL-tenant laws:RIGL § 34-18-22 Landlord to maintain premisesRIGL § 34-18-22.2 Landlord's duty regarding compliance with zoning and minimum housing lawsRIGL § 34-18-31 Wrongful failure to supply heat, water, hot water, or essential servicesRIGL § 45-24.3-7 Minimum standards for basic equipment and facilities

Now I'm told by my compliance department that I CAN be licensed as a real estate agent, but I can't have any active listings. 

Most states now use title companys for closing and title companies have attorneys on staff for review for compliance with state law.2.