What is required for a room to be a bedroom?

The Room must have a closet.

Hi Rebecka,
I would say it has to have a closet however, difference jurisdictions may interpret "bedroom" differently. Webster says " a room furnished with a bed and intended primarily for sleeping" which is very gray I can furnish a closet and call it a "bedroom" according to this definition which I just saw last week.

Hope this helps.

Faith

Faith

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I am not sure if you are listing your home or are a skeptical buyer, but it is a good idea for sellers to count bedrooms if they have a source of egress and a closet. This is generally what all consumers expect. If you are considering buying an older home, these standards may be compromised.

Hi Rebecka,

You already have some great answers here to help answer your question. I only wish to add that since many things are negotiable in a real estate transaction, ask the seller to change out the window to one that is functional.

Janet Wooddell
Keller Williams Realty
832-285-2865

Hi Rebecka,

Builders must take into account legal requirements for escape routes, local codes regarding window measurement and square footage and ceiling height requirements. According to HUD the minimum space allowed is 70sf or 50sf per occupant.

According to the International Residential Code, the most important factor is safety - specifically, egress. There has to be two exits and one has to be an exterior door or window.. Windows should open in bedrooms to be able to escape and if burglar bars are present, they have to have a safety latch on the inside.

Also, a bedroom should have a closet and access to a bath without going through another habitable space (bath down the hall is ok as well as en suite).

New construction homes/town homes have to adhere to the current building codes and that would include the local regulations on bedroom determination.

Hope all this helps!

Darby Grimmett
Keller Williams Realty
darby@darbygrimmett.com
936-827-9217

A bedroom means those areas within a residential dwelling which have the potential to be utilized as a sleeping area on a consistent basis. To be deemed a bedroom, the room must meet all of the following standards:
1. Be a habitable or planned habitable space per Building Code requirements. Planned habitable spaces would include those areas which contain the appropriate "roughed-in" mechanicals, such as, heating ducts, hot water lines, or, plumbing waste lines, etc., but are not currently "finished" to meet Building Code requirements for habitable space.
2. Provide privacy to the occupants.
3. Full bathroom facilities (containing either a bathtub or shower) are conveniently located to the bedroom served. Convenience in this case means on the same floor as the bedroom or directly accessed from a stairway.
4. Entry is from a common area, not through a room already deemed a bedroom.

From your question it seems you're looking at new construction and they would normally meet current city building standards.

I was taught that in order for a room to be a "bedroom", it must have four walls and a closet. Hope this helps you.

Hi Rebecka,
It is my understanding (and I might not be 100% correct) that a bedroom must have a window. There has to be a way out in case of fire. When I work with builders on new homes they usually have everything up to code. When there is something like a fixed window I would ask for clarification. When buying new construction I always advise buyers to get an inspection. Even though it's new it could still have issues. After the inspection I ask the builder to fix or explain every single thing on the report.

You are welcome to contact me if you need further information. Although, I'm sure you will get more answers to your question. Which is the beauty of this forum, you get lots of opinions.