# When does a bedroom become an apartment?



## Ryan Wayne (Mar 22, 2019)

I have a building that is being design/builder proposed as an IRC two-family duplex structure. The construction is more like a townhome because there is a two hour wall to be constructed between each dwelling unit from foundation to underside of fire rated roof sheathing even though there is not a property line between them (they are on the same large parcel). On each side of this two hour wall is a two story mirror image of the other. Each has a small kitchen, small living room, laundry room, utility room, common use bathroom, and two bedrooms on the first floor and four bedrooms on the second floor. Each bedroom also has it's own private bathroom with a water closet, lavatory, and shower. At first glance it is pretty easy... a lot of bathrooms but hey, why not?

Where I need some opinions and guidance is that each of these bedrooms in addition to having it's own full bathroom, also has a kitchen type sink, cabinets and countertop, and a fridge in the room. These bedrooms are on average 20' x 12'-6" in size... basically each bedroom looks like a hotel room to be honest. Each of the two dwellings from my understanding may be rented out to a family (meaning everyone is related) or might end up being a group of college students that don't even know each other but live together. Our zoning ordinance defines family as "One or more individuals related by blood or law, occupying a dwelling unit and living as a single household unit. A family shall not include more than six (6) adults who are unrelated by blood or law, in addition to persons actually related by blood or law" so the builder feels he is covered by defining this as a two-family duplex under the IRC. How is family defined by ICC? 

At minimum it appears to me that I have a lodging house in the case of the college student situation since it has more than 5 guestrooms. They are not sprinkled so that should kick it over to the IBC but at what point does these stop being a bedroom and should be considered its own unit or apartment anyway. I ask in case they propose to reduce each dwelling unit by one bedroom. Does a kitchen sink and dorm fridge constitute a kitchen? There is no permanent stove but with the cabinets and countertop each will have room for food preparation appliances.


----------



## cda (Mar 22, 2019)

My daughter rented out a room in a house and townhouse while in college and other girls rented out the other rooms. There was a community of these

I did not think they were apartments, maybe some other R

Until you see rental signs you have to go by the title on the plans

Now you can have them put in writing the use and if you see otherwise in the future either stop use or bring to code

Sounds possible also other city law issues


----------



## cda (Mar 22, 2019)

Guess  icc does not define apartment


----------



## mtlogcabin (Mar 22, 2019)

Since the residents of each half share the kitchen I would classify each half as a IBC R-3 congregate living facility. As far as your zoning definition of a family you will loose if challenged in court. Many jurisdictions across the country that had language requiring by "blood" or "law" to define a family already have lost in court over the years.  

CONGREGATE LIVING FACILITIES. A building or part thereof that contains sleeping units where residents share bathroom and/or kitchen facilities.


----------



## fatboy (Mar 23, 2019)

I was leaning towards IRC....but mt's spot on definition points you in the right direction.


----------



## fatboy (Mar 23, 2019)

Sorry, take back, back to the IRC......the design of the building is IRC One and Two-family Dwelling, how each room is fitted out has no relevance........sounds like a basement bar added to each unit. The ultimate use is outside our control, other than P&Z.


----------



## ADAguy (Mar 23, 2019)

Sounds as if he is setting it up as an Air B n B.


----------



## fatboy (Mar 24, 2019)

Still doesn't change where it lands in the code. We can suspect, but at the end of the day, if the designer/owner chooses to label it a duplex, then a duplex it will be. File it as such, walk away.


----------



## mark handler (Mar 25, 2019)

Generally a Apartment refers to any dwelling unit that is offered for rent, lease or hire or which is rented leased or hired.
The precise definition of what constitutes a Apartment may vary from state to state.
Apartment Will generally contain a sleeping space, bathroom and cooking spaces.
If it does not contain all three it would be "renting a room" not an Apartment.

"Flat" vs "apartment"
Both words refer to a self-contained residential unit with its own front door, kitchen, toilet (room), and bathroom. In some parts of the world, the word apartment refers to a purpose-built unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted unit in an older building, usually a big house. In other places the terms are interchangeable.
The term apartment is favored in North America (although in some cities flat is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor[citation needed]). In the UK, the term apartment is more usual in professional real estate and architectural circles where otherwise the term flat is used commonly, but not exclusively, for an apartment on a single level (hence a 'flat' apartment).
In some countries the word "unit" is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business suites. The word 'unit' is generally used only in the context of a specific building; e.g., "This building has three units" or "I'm going to rent a unit in this building", but not "I'm going to rent a unit somewhere".
Some buildings can be characterized as 'mixed use buildings', meaning part of the building is for commercial, business, or office use, usually on the first floor or first couple of floors, and one or more apartments are found in the rest of the building, usually on the upper floors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartment


----------



## mtlogcabin (Mar 25, 2019)

cda said:


> Guess icc does not define apartment


ICC does define "apartment" "condo" "flat" there are under "dwelling unit"


----------



## Ryan Wayne (Mar 25, 2019)

Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. I thought it would be a congregate living facility as well but when I looked further into it, what makes a congregate living facility a congregate living facility is the presence of sleeping units. The definition of sleeping unit allows for either sanitation or kitchen facilities but not both. When I look at these units I see both. That is where this circles back for me. The root of this to me is do the cabinets/countertops, fridge, and a food cooking appliance that is not a range (microwave, air-fryer, electric skillet, etc.) make a "kitchen". If they do then I believe each bedroom has both a sanitation and kitchen facility and is then by definition not a sleeping unit, and by extension not a congregate living facility.

I fully understand where fatboy is coming from with the comment "designer/owner chooses to label it a duplex, then a duplex it will be. File it as such, walk away." and I do not want to be an obstructionist... but at the same time I have to be in agreement with the classification of the building too. I do not want to have to answer why I went ahead with approving a classification if I wasn't sure about it. Something about this just doesn't pass muster for me. It feels like exploiting a loophole or something.


----------



## ADAguy (Mar 25, 2019)

Interesting to note that "granny flats" are not always flat, also that with the rise of B n B's there will be a lot of suits over what and where these units (for limited duration stay (transient?)) actually are, especially if in SF's and Condos and under what code sections they fall.  .


----------



## mtlogcabin (Mar 25, 2019)

Does a kitchen sink and dorm fridge constitute a kitchen? No
There is no permanent stove but with the cabinets and counter top each will have room for food preparation appliances. Food preparation appliances are not cooking appliances by definition and therefore would not constitute a "kitchen"

IRC 2012
M1901.2 Cooking appliances.
Cooking appliances shall be listed and labeled for household use and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The installation shall not interfere with combustion air or access for operation and servicing. Electric cooking appliances shall comply with UL 1026 or UL 858. Solid-fuel-fired fireplace stoves shall comply with UL 737.

UL 1026
1.2 These requirements do not cover household electric ranges, electrode type appliances, skillets and frying type appliances, fondues, woks, tempuras, corn poppers, coffee makers and brewing type appliances, commercial cooking appliances, microwave cooking appliances, or appliances that are covered in individual requirements that are separate from this Standard.


----------



## mark handler (Mar 25, 2019)

In the definition I gave there is no kitchen, A cooking space, could be a counter. and you could wash dishes in the bath lav. think studio Apartment


----------



## mark handler (Mar 25, 2019)




----------



## ADAguy (Mar 25, 2019)

Don't call it a "Cooking" area, no?


----------



## mark handler (Mar 25, 2019)

ADAguy said:


> Don't call it a "Cooking" area, no?


Not a kitchen


----------



## ADAguy (Mar 25, 2019)

Only a warming area for counter top appliances, no "Ulines" allowed


----------



## mark handler (Mar 25, 2019)

You can cook with a Microwave oven or hot plate or George Foreman grill
Cooking area


----------



## jar546 (Mar 25, 2019)

I would kick this to zoning and let them handle the hot potato.


----------



## Rick18071 (Mar 26, 2019)

mark handler said:


> You can cook with a Microwave oven or hot plate or George Foreman grill
> Cooking area



I would not call a space with a microwave a cooking area any more than a space with a couch makes it a sleeping area.


----------



## ADAguy (Mar 26, 2019)

mark handler said:


> You can cook with a Microwave oven or hot plate or George Foreman grill
> Cooking area


Yes, and each of those is a "portable" appliance without an open flame, just like a toaster oven.
"Cooking" may be seen as applying to use of ovens and builtin ranges vs warming items.
Taking it a step farther, at what point would a hood be required for the products of "cooking" vs warming?
Does requirement for a hood make it a kitchen?


----------



## tmurray (Mar 26, 2019)

The line in the sand that we drew was that if you can't cook thanksgiving dinner, it is not a kitchen. Not perfect, I know, but you have to draw the line somewhere.


----------



## mark handler (Mar 26, 2019)

tmurray said:


> The line in the sand that we drew was that if you can't cook thanksgiving dinner, it is not a kitchen. Not perfect, I know, but you have to draw the line somewhere.


*Thanksgiving Dinner*


----------



## ADAguy (Mar 26, 2019)

"Swanson" pre cooked MRE's, "Yum" but no cranberry sauce


----------



## mark handler (Mar 26, 2019)

ADAguy said:


> "Swanson" pre cooked MRE's, "Yum" but no cranberry sauce


I have a can opener


----------



## tmurray (Mar 26, 2019)

mark handler said:


> *Thanksgiving Dinner*


Just like mom used to make.


----------



## JCraver (Mar 27, 2019)

It's clearly an IRC duplex to me.  Common kitchen on both sides, right?  So any extra cabinets/counters/"cooking areas"/etc. are just that - extra.  If you're reviewing a single-family house and the wife wants a countertop and cabinets in the master bedroom are you going to stop her?  Same thing.  It's two, 6 bedroom duplexes.  Sell the guy a permit and roll on.


----------



## JCraver (Mar 27, 2019)

jar546 said:


> I would kick this to zoning and let them handle the hot potato.



Or, learn the zoning code.  It can't do anything but help if the building dept. knows the zoning dept.'s. rules.


----------



## Rick18071 (Mar 27, 2019)

I took out the stove and oven years ago. Where the kitchen was is more like a home office. Single guy in a man cave house. Don't cook much. A lot of take out and traveling. Only have a microwave, toaster/oven and a coffee machine.

[RB] DWELLING. Any building that contains one or two
*dwelling units* used, intended, or designed to be built, used,
rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or that are
occupied for living purposes.
[RB] DWELLING UNIT. A single unit providing complete
independent living facilities for one or more persons, including
permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, *cooking*
and sanitation.

Is my home no longer a dwelling under the IRC?

If I do any improvements or build a deck would I now be under the IBC?

Should I have applied for a Change of Occupancy when I took out my cooking appliances?


----------



## cda (Mar 27, 2019)

Rick18071 said:


> I took out the stove and oven years ago. Where the kitchen was is more like a home office. Single guy in a man cave house. Don't cook much. A lot of take out and traveling. Only have a microwave, toaster/oven and a coffee machine.
> 
> [RB] DWELLING. Any building that contains one or two
> *dwelling units* used, intended, or designed to be built, used,
> ...




Well what is a studio??  Does it really provide for sleeping??


And, is cooking defined??  As in back to microwave


----------



## mark handler (Mar 27, 2019)

cda said:


> Well what is a studio??  Does it really provide for sleeping??
> And, is cooking defined??  As in back to microwave


Many Studio's rely on Microwaves and heating elements (cant have gas).


----------



## mtlogcabin (Mar 27, 2019)

2012 IRC
KITCHEN. Kitchen shall mean an area used, or designated to be used, for the preparation of food.

So now you have a 12 unit apartment building


----------



## ADAguy (Mar 27, 2019)

"Preparation" key word, doesn't differentiate between hot or cold foods ( nee vegetarian). 
A "place to eat" doesn't work because folks eat everywhere.
Does not to cook imply the use of heat and is not heat a potential source of fires?
If a kitchen does it not then have specific electrical requirements (separate circuits, GFI's, water proximity?  ?


----------

