Advice needed - Renting a room in my house

[Shaerza]

Considering renting out one of the extra bedrooms in my house to supplement income for the summer, but I am not really sure where to start. Will be to a guy I know fairly well and trust wont destroy anything, so I do not think that I really need to get a lawyer involved in the process at all.. but I will probably still want to have signed contracts etc..

Can I use some of the generic rent forms that are available on the web and still protect myself in the case that anything does go wrong? Can you add extra terms to these agreements and still have them be binding?

Any other general tips/advice would also be appreciated. The idea does not seem like that big of a deal to me currently, but I am not sure how thuroughly I have thought it thru..

[ade06]

Check this site out http://www.toledohousingcourt.org/landlords/default.asp. Landlord/Tenant laws are very specific to the state and even to the city.

I FINALLY got tennants for a house we own and just used a standard California Realtors Lease. It includes all the necessary items for our protection and the protection of our tennants. I think I could have added additional points but didn't feel it was necessary.

Good luck! And it's wise to be very cautious and careful.

[BigCat]

***Disclaimer**** I do not know about Ohio/Toledo landlord tenant law.

That being said, generally, you can add whatever terms you like to a form contract, and as long as both parties agree to them and they are not illegal terms, the modified contract will be binding and enforceable. Where the Toledo landlord tenant law comes in is in determining what is "not illegal".

[Shaerza]

Originally Posted by ade06

Check this site out http://www.toledohousingcourt.org/landlords/default.asp. Landlord/Tenant laws are very specific to the state and even to the city.

Ah nice link. I had not come across this yet

[mosesbotbol]

I was in real estate in MA for some time and a few of my friends are among the largest property rental owners in the city... Some advice I would give is...

Do not let friendship blur your responsibilities on this one. If you do, you may not be friends in the end. Don't take things for granted or assume he'll be gentle on your property or he's good for paying rent.

Things to consider:

- first and last month's rent, as well as security deposit. Security deposit must be held in escrow or dedicated account.

- videotape the condition of the apartment before he move's in and have him sign a "condition statment" of the apartment where you both agree on the state of the unit he is moving into.

- do a fixed term lease

- find out how much it is to clean your unit professionally and include one cleaning a month into the lease price. At least you know it will be cleaned once a month.

[icehog3]

In Illinois, if things do not work out, you can't "kick him out" because things are not working out. You have to go through a formal eviction process, which takes months and months. So bascially he has tenant rights in your house, and will cost you months and lots of cash to get him out. I wouldn't do it on a bet, Dan, I see these situations "gone bad" every week at work.

[RGD.]

You will need more than a standard lease to rent out a bedroom. In addition to what's already been posted - a few other items to condisder:

01. Access to other parts of the house.
02. Kitchen and bathroom - times/area to use, cleaning, food storage, etc.
03. Entrance to home and times.
04. Amenities: TV's, stereo's, washer/dryer, etc
05. Temp control on A/C - Heat
06. Parking
07. Guests allowed over.
08. Noise - i.e. playing music, tv etc at certain times.

Short list but you get the idea. Never leave it to the "we will work it out" approach - cause it never does. Renting a room can sound like a good idea - but there are things to consider which will disrupt your routine. And as mentioned - once he signs a lease - he has rights.


Ron