Question: What determines a legal bedroom in a home? Sophia J., Old Orchard Beach
Answer: Sophia, great question and there is a lot of misinformation on that. The traditional definition was if the room had a closet and was not a pass-through to another room. Today, two main things determine a legal bedroom in a home. One, there must be legal egress out of the room, i.e. a window or additional door (other than the main entrance), and two, a heat source. Also to note, if on private septic, there must be a legal system to handle the number of bedrooms listed. Septic systems are sized by the number of bedrooms so if you have four bedrooms in your home but a three-bedroom designed septic you only legally have a three-bedroom home. If you are on public sewer, then your legal bedroom count is determined by the square footage of the property. Different states have different rules on this.
Marc Cardullo is the broker/owner of Freedom Realty in Saco. He is a 15-year seasoned agent with nearly 20 years in the Real Estate industry. He answers all Real Estate and Real Estate financing questions for you. To submit a question email: mcardullo@gmail.com
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less