SELECTING A TENANT
Renting
out a room means inviting a stranger into your life. The
wrong tenant could make you feel uncomfortable... rob you...
or fail to pay rent. Strategies
for finding the right tenant...
Work
with a nonprofit home-sharing
organization. These
local organizations match home owners with room renters,
usually for free. They have experience spotting potential
problem tenants and even might conduct background checks on
prospective tenants.
Links to
home-sharing organizations can be found on the National
Shared Housing Resource Center’s Web site
(www.nationalsharedhousing.org).
Click the "Directory" link, then search for programs in your
region coded "MU," for "Match-Up Program."
Contact
employers in your region. Companies
that hire temporary employees or that transfer employees to
the region from other branches for temporary assignments
sometimes keep track of local housing
options.
Contact
local universities’ housing departments. They might know of
graduate students or visiting professors in need of rooms for
a semester or longer. Contact school principals. Schools
sometimes hire temporary replacements from out of town when
teachers take maternity leave. Contact hospital human
resources departments. Hospitals often hire temporary nurses,
sometimes from overseas.
Contact
local houses of worship. Ask
if they know any trustworthy people in need of affordable
housing.
Insist
that a potential tenant supply proof of stable
income, such
as pay stubs. Also get his/her employer’s contact information
so that you can get a reference. And be sure to get at least
two other references, including one from a previous
landlord.
If
you want to avoid tenants who have criminal histories, lean
toward applicants in fields such as teaching or nursing,
where background checks and drug tests are the norm. If you
want to conduct your own check, search online for "background
check" to find a company. Be sure to have the renter’s Social
Security number so that you are checking the right person. To
see if the person is a sex offender, go to www.nsopw.gov/core/publicregistrysites.aspx.
Don’t
wait until the last minute. Home
owners often wait until their financial situations become
desperate before renting out a room. This desperation forces
them to accept almost anyone who knocks on their door. Better
to advertise your room for rent several months before your
financial situation becomes tight so that you can be
selective.
HOUSE RULES
Home
owners should explain the house rules to would-be tenants
before agreeing to let them move in...
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Identify the sections of
the house and grounds that are off-limits to the
tenant. Example: The master bedroom,
den and the garden on the east side of the house are private
areas.
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Explain if and where
smoking is allowed. Example: Smoking is
not allowed in the home, but it is permitted on the back patio.
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Explain whether pets are
allowed. Example: Cats and dogs are not
permitted, but smaller pets confined to cages or aquariums are
acceptable, subject to the home owner’s approval.
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Describe where the renter
can park. Example: The renter can park
a vehicle on the driveway’s left side, leaving room for other
vehicles to pass.
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Explain whether overnight
and daytime guests are
allowed. Example:Daytime guests are
permitted in the renter’s private room but not in the home’s common
areas. Overnight guests are not permitted.
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Lay out the tenant’s
access to the house TV and other electronics... the
refrigerator... the washer/dryer... and the house
phone. Example: The tenant can use the TV and
stereo between 10 am and 10 pm if they are not being used by the
home owner. One shelf will be made available in the refrigerator
for the tenant’s use. The tenant has the right to do two loads of
laundry per week. The tenant cannot use the house phone without
specific permission from the home owner.
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Set certain hours as
"quiet time." Example: The tenant
agrees to keep noise down between 10 pm and 8 am.
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Explain whether the
tenant has any right to change the thermostat... and,
if not, at what temperature the home will be
kept. Example: The home will be heated to at
least 68° in the winter and cooled to stay below 75° in the summer.
The tenant cannot change the thermostat without permission.
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List any restrictions on
food storage, preparation and consumption in the tenant’s private
room. Example: The tenant can eat in
the kitchen or in his private room, but all food will be stored and
prepared in the kitchen. No hot plate, microwave or refrigerator is
permitted in the private room.
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Explain who is
responsible for household utility
bills. Example: All utility bills will
be paid by the home owner. (Room renters generally prefer the
certainty of a fixed charge.)
ROOM RENTING AND THE LAW
Five
legal considerations...
Landlord
law. A
long list of state and federal laws govern the
landlord/tenant relationship. Examples: Many
jurisdictions have laws restricting a landlord’s right to
evict a tenant or enter a tenant’s room or apartment...
limiting security deposits and fees... and requiring the
disclosure of lead paint and other health
risks.
The
Web site of the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development offers details for federal fair housing laws and
links to sites that cover state laws (www.hud.gov, click
"Rental Assistance" under "Topic Areas," then read the sections
under "Your Rights and Responsibilities").
Exception: If
you are renting out a room in your own residence, you are not
subject to the same strict federal antidiscrimination laws
that other landlords must follow. You could choose to rent
only to someone of your own gender.
Zoning
laws. Some
towns and neighborhoods have rules limiting the number of
unrelated people who can live together under one roof. These
rules typically do not prevent home owners from renting out
one room to one unrelated roommate, but it’s worth checking
with your town offices.
Taxes. The
rent your tenant pays to you is income that should be
reported to the IRS. However, you likely can deduct a portion
of your home’s depreciation... home repair and maintenance
costs... utility bills... and homeowner’s insurance premiums
from this rental income. See IRS publication
527, Residential
Rental Property,
for details. You can download it at www.irs.gov.
Insurance. Contact
your homeowner’s insurance provider to make sure that your
policy will not be voided if you take in a tenant... and that
you will be covered if the tenant causes damage to the home
or is injured on your property and sues.
Contracts. Prepare a
written lease to be signed by both you and your tenant.
Suitable forms can be found in do-it-yourself legal
guidebooks... or downloaded from law Web sites, such
as Nolo.com, typically
for $10 or $25. This lease should spell out each party’s
responsibilities, including the house rules... the amount of
rent and the day of the month on which rent is due... whether a
security deposit is required... and the terms under which the
lease can be ended. Room-rental agreements typically allow
either party to terminate the lease with 30 days’
notice.