So you’re thinking about renting out the spare bedroom in your house. After all, you have an extra room and could use the rental income the room can generate, and you could have a roommate to keep you company. While it could be the greatest thing you do and you could perhaps find a new friend, it could also become your worst nightmare if you don’t do it the right way. But at least think twice before renting out your spare bedroom.
Many people think that renting out a room in your own house is different than renting out a house. After all, you’re not a big fancy landlord and you don’t rent out multiple units on big pieces of property. You’re just trying to rent out a room and make a little bit of extra cash. Well I want to warn you that California law doesn’t see it this way. In fact, the law sees it the same as renting out a house, an apartment, or any other piece of property. Many people come to me and ask me if they have to provide a roommate with a notice of termination of tenancy and if they have to treat them like an actual tenant. My response is always yes. People who rent rooms are afforded the same rights and responsibilities as normal tenants under California landlord-tenant law. People must provide their roommates with the same notices and respect the tenant space of that room the same as if it were an entire house or an apartment.
This can be very problematic to some people, as some roommate situations can be very sensitive and tense. For example, you may have a roommate who’s annoying you or purposely doing things to cause harm to your property. You don’t get any passes or exemptions just because you rented out a room. You have to follow the laws for regular tenants, which can be very tedious and stressful because you may have to file for a restraining order or call the police when the roommate situation gets out of hand.
It’s a good idea to prevent roommate problems from beginning in the first place. The number-one thing you should do is conduct a proper screening of all applicants for your room. This is especially important because you’re going to be living in close proximity with that person. Not only do you need to ensure that your new roommate can pay the rent, but you also have to consider the person’s personality and if the two of you are going to get along, which means getting to know the other person. In a roommate situation, I would strongly encourage people to consider a month-to-month lease agreement. If something doesn’t work out in a month-to-month lease agreement, you can terminate the tenancy with a 30-day notice. When you have a six-month or one-year lease agreement, you’re stuck with that person for the period of the lease unless there is a fault breach in the agreement, such as nonpayment of rent. The second thing you should consider in a roommate situation is to lay out clear expectations of how you’re going to live with this person. Are you both going to take turns cleaning up the common bathroom, for example? Are you going to share washing the dishes? Will it be a big problem if your roommate always leaves dirty socks on the floor? You need to work out these issues before the rental agreement is finalized.
This isn’t an extensive list of what to look out for, but they are some very common situations. If you have a feeling that you’re not going to be able to live with someone, you may want to consider another occupant or decide to not rent out your room at all. That would be better than waiting for something bad to happen and trying to get someone to legally move out of your home.
