What Does Rooming House Mean in Real Estate?
What Does Rooming House Mean in Real Estate?
A rooming house is a building containing a single dwelling unit and not more than five guest rooms, where lodging is provided with or without meals for compensation.
Rooming houses are often used as housing for low-income people, as they are the least expensive housing for single adults.
Rooming houses involve people who are not related living together, often in an existing house, and sharing a kitchen, bathroom (in most cases), and a living room or dining room.
The person operating or “conducting” the rooming house could be the landlord (or owner), the manager of the dwelling, or could be a primary tenant who sublets rooms to four or more unrelated people.
Boarding, lodging or rooming house means a dwelling in which sleeping units are rented with or without meals being provided to other than members of the family.
A rooming house is better described as a “living arrangement” rather than a specially “built form” of housing.
Rooming House Vs Apartment
A rooming house is a dwelling where you rent a single room, and there are four or more renters living there who are not related to the person operating the rooming house.
You share a kitchen with other residents or have no kitchen, and you share a bathroom with other residents. Each occupant has their own lease with a specific term in a boarding house arrangement.
However, for a house with roommates, all of the tenants will be on one lease that’s specified for the same period of time.
Boarding house rooms are self-contained and generally smaller than apartments. When you rent an apartment, the entire place is yours.
Even if you opt for a small efficiency unit to save money, the space is yours from wall to wall. If you rent only a room, however, you’ll have to share common areas like the bathroom and kitchen.
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Rooming House Pros and Cons
The pros and cons of living in a rooming house depend on the individual’s situation. On the one hand, rooming houses can provide a high income compared to small multifamily dwellings.
Additionally, they are often located close to schools, making it easier for students to get to class on time.
On the other hand, rooming houses can be more management-intensive than other types of housing, and there may be safety risks associated with living with strangers.
Furthermore, privacy is reduced compared to living alone and noise levels can be higher due to thin walls between rooms.
Finally, housemates may have different lifestyles which could lead to conflicts or lost friendships. Ultimately, individuals should weigh the pros and cons of living in a rooming house before making a decision that is best for them.
How Much Does It Cost to Live in A Rooming House
The cost of living in a rooming house varies depending on the location and amenities provided. A room in a boarding house typically costs far less to rent than a full-size apartment or house, and tenants don’t have to commit to long leases.
Startup PadSplit, based in Atlanta, has private bedrooms for residents with fixed utility costs. Residents report about $460 in monthly savings when taking into account housing, utility and transportation costs.
Alliance Housing Inc. offers affordable rooms that are 30% of one’s income or less. In Philadelphia, James Smith Jr. pays $80 a week to live in a safe building in Brewerytown.
Rooming House Safety Concerns
Rooming houses are businesses that rent out four or more individual rooms in the same building. Rooming house tenants have legal rights, including the right to a safe and decent place to live with heat, hot water, and electricity.
However, rooming house residents often face challenges concerning health, safety, accessing basic services, and social inclusion.
Rooming houses may also have a negative impact on nearby property values due to concerns about safety and desirability.
In Philadelphia, there are likely exponentially more rooming houses than city officials hear about due to a lack of reporting.
Residents of rooming houses have reported both horror stories of violence and drug use as well as happier tales of well-run homes where renters live like a family.
It is important for landlords to invest in running a rooming house responsibly in order to ensure the safety of their tenants.
How to Find a Rooming House?
There are several ways to find a rooming house in Los Angeles. One way is to use online platforms such as SpareRoom, Nestpick, HotPads, Coliving.com, and Roomies.com.
These platforms allow users to search for rooms for rent in different neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Users can filter their search by price range, location, and other preferences.
Another way is to look for shared living arrangements such as coliving homes or shared rooms. Coliving.com offers furnished rooms with individual leases and all-inclusive pricing. Roomies.com allows users to create a listing and get their search started today.
To find a rooming house in Los Angeles using SpareRoom, users can browse through the featured ads on the website or use the search bar to filter their results.
Nestpick offers a similar service where users can find cheap furnished rooms to rent in Los Angeles on a monthly or short-long term basis. HotPads allows users to filter their search by rental type under the “All filters” tab.
