In today’s housing market, people are looking for more rooms. Is it possible to market another space in your home as another bedroom? There are requirements that need to be met in order to legally classify another room as a bedroom so let’s take a look at those:

Minimum Size Requirements

This is the one of the main concerning factors in determining whether a room counts for a bedroom. At a minimum, the space needs to be 70-80 square feet with at least a 7 foot ceiling. Anything smaller than this would be a struggle to fit a bed inside, thus failing the purpose of the room. Lofts are able to have lower ceilings as long as half of the room opens up to a 7 foot ceiling.

Escape Methods

Legally, a bedroom must have two escape methods. Traditionally this would be the door to the room and a window. In certain circumstances, a skylight can classify as an escape method, meaning you don’t necessarily need to have a window in the room. Keep in mind, for windows, they must be at least 5.7 square feet!

Heating & Cooling

A bedroom needs to have access to heat and a way to cool the room down as well. This does not mean a bedroom must have air conditioning; it means cooling the space down through opening a window or some type of fan in the room.

A bedroom does not need to have a bathroom or any type of ensuite attached to the room nor does it need to legally have a closet. These are just added perks! Even if you’re not available to increase the number of bedrooms in your home for your expired listing, make sure to specifically note if the home has room for a study or home office.

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