Can I legally rent out a bedroom? (Chicago: apartment, renter)

[emoeskaite]

Is there any law about renting out a bedroom? I know there are some requirements about renting out an apartment in Chicago, like having two exits etc.

Also what if somebody stops paying me for the bedroom? Can I just change the locks and not let them in?

Just curious.

[marothisu]

It needs to be a single room occupancy pretty much and there are laws around that. My girlfriend actually did this unknowingly, but for the person to have a true SRO, they need to get it inspected and there's very specific laws or else it would be illegal for just that.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by marothisu

It needs to be a single room occupancy pretty much and there are laws around that. My girlfriend actually did this unknowingly, but for the person to have a true SRO, they need to get it inspected and there's very specific laws or else it would be illegal for just that.

Well, it depends on what the O.P. means by "rent out a bedroom." If they mean for more than 30 days at a stretch, then they just have a roommate and it's fine. If it's for less than 30 days (for example, for a few days at a time through Airbnb), then technically she's supposed to get a B&B license although it's one of those laws that's really only enforced based on complaints so unless her neighbors complain she could probably get by without paying the approximately $450 for the license and dealing with the hassle of inspections but not only am I not a lawyer, I won't really advise doing something that could leave yourself open to fines from the city.

If she's talking about a roommate, then the *apartment* or the *floor* (if she's in a highrise) needs to have two exits, but the *bedroom* only needs to have a window that opens to meet basic code. The window does not have to be a means of escape. But in roommate situations, there aren't a lot of laws that apply - there may be some ordinance about the number of people in an apartment (for example, technically only one person can live in a studio), but for the most part if it's legal for 1 person, it's legal for 2 people. If she *owns* the unit, getting a roommate shouldn't be any problem at all, but doing Airbnb may or may not be allowed by her condo association and/or they may explicitly require that she get licensed by the City. If she *rents* the unit herself, getting a roommate may require the lease to be re-written, and most landlords would not allow a renter to run an Airbnb property.

The Chicago landlord-tenant ordinance does not apply to small, owner-occupied units or buildings, so she might be able to get away with locking someone out although I'd advise *any* roommate situation to have a written lease with each other for the protection of both the primary resident and the roommate. Of course if the building is a rental and they're both on the lease then one roommate cannot lock out the other without a court order any more than the landlord could.

[marothisu]

^ Very true. I guess I just thought they meant as a longer term SRO. There are very specific rules for it though...my girlfriend had it happen to her where she rented a place out and then the guy claimed it was an SRO. I had to read up on the laws and rules. There's also a law about having a sink in there or not and the room has to be less than a certain square footage.

I'm not a big fan of SRO types though, but you bring up some excellent points for sure.