This is a relatively common question, that usually takes one of the following forms:
- I own a house that is zoned R-1, am moving (into a different house, out of the area, etc) and want to know whether I can rent out the house instead of selling it.
- My son/daughter attends JMU and I'd like to buy them a house to live in with their friends --- how about that single family home (zoned R-1) over there?
So, let's see what we find out examining the Harrisonburg Zoning Ordinance. First, a
summary of the R-1 zoning ordinance provides the following general guidance:
The R-1, Single-Family Residential District is intended for low-density, relatively spacious single-family residential development . . . Primary use is for single families, owner occupied dwellings can rent additional rooms, but not to more than two persons, as long as no new kitchen facilities are included. Non-owner occupied dwellings can rent to only one other person, as long as no new kitchen facilities are included. This district is the most restrictive zoning classification for occupancy.
To draw out a few points:- "intended for low-density" - Homes zoned R-1 are in areas that are intended for low-density use. Rental properties usually end up as medium to high density use (to achieve maximum cash flow) and thus are not at all the intent for R-1 zoned properties.
- "owner occupied dwellings can rent additional rooms, but not to more than two persons" - If the owner of the house lives in the home, they can have two additional people renting from them, but the home cannot have a second kitchen.
- "Non-owner occupied dwellings can rent to only one other person" - If the owner of the house does not live in the home, an individual or family may (the non-owner occupant/s) and one additional tenant can live in the home.
- "This district is the most restrictive zoning classification for occupancy" - In other words, if you're looking for a property with more flexible use, don't look at R-1 properties.
To get back to the original questions:- If you own an R-1 home and want to rent it instead of selling it, you can do it, but we'll assume that you aren't going to be living in it yourself. That being the case, you can't rent it to any more than two people, unless it is a family and one additional tenant.
- If you are a parent of a JMU student, and you own the house, your son/daughter could only have one additional roommate --- unless your son/daughter is on the deed, in which case I believe they would be an owner occupant and could have two additional people living in the house.
In addition to
zoning summary, the entire
Harrisonburg Zoning Ordinance (as of June 2009) is available online. Or....
for an official interpretation, you ought to call Harrisonburg's Department of Planning and Zoning at (540) 432-7700.
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