Question about renting a mother in law suite (Hampton: renter, house)

[timanemone]

Hi all. I own a house in Hampton that has a space below that could be converted into a full mother in law suite. I've asked the city if I could legally rent this and they say that its zoned for a single family, so they say I could not. I asked if I could apply for a variance, and he(someone who said he'd been there 38 years), said I could apply(for $650), but that he had never seen Hampton issue one in all that time. He said the only way was to talk to the Planning Dept. and see the possibility of getting it rezoned, which he said was also unlikely. Does anyone have experience in this area and can suggest alternative paths to legally being able to rent this space? Also, what would be the ramifications of taking on a renter anyway and just leaving the city out of it? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks...

[Rita Mordio]

Originally Posted by timanemone

Hi all. I own a house in Hampton that has a space below that could be converted into a full mother in law suite. I've asked the city if I could legally rent this and they say that its zoned for a single family, so they say I could not. I asked if I could apply for a variance, and he(someone who said he'd been there 38 years), said I could apply(for $650), but that he had never seen Hampton issue one in all that time. He said the only way was to talk to the Planning Dept. and see the possibility of getting it rezoned, which he said was also unlikely. Does anyone have experience in this area and can suggest alternative paths to legally being able to rent this space? Also, what would be the ramifications of taking on a renter anyway and just leaving the city out of it? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks...

I would follow the advice of the gentleman from the city and apply for a variance and to get in contact with the Planning Department. If your home is zoned Single Family, then that is what it is zoned - only the city can change that.

I would assume that because your home is zoned Single Family, that if you were to go ahead and rent out that space, you'd be committing a crime. So, you'd not only face criminal charges, but the tenant could potentially file a civil suit for it, as well.

Short answer - Go the legal and proper route.