Every inch counts when it comes to qualifying what a legal bedroom is in the state of California. If your home is legally considered a 2-bedroom but has the potential for 3, that can drastically impact its value. Fortunately, even without a closet, your room is considered a legal bedroom in California. There are specific legal standards, in addition to size alone, that define what makes a room a bedroom.
Let’s break down these requirements and see how they can impact your home, both legally and in terms of value.
Legal Requirements for a Bedroom in CA
According to the California Building Code, a room needs to be at least 70 square feet, have an entrance, and have an escape to be considered a legal bedroom. While certain rooms are still marketed online as things like an ‘optional bedroom’, they would not legally qualify as a bedroom without meeting those three criteria.
Sadly, this will consider many rooms ‘down for the count’. Hopeful homeowners will have dreams of listing their properties on the market with that extra bedroom, only to be disappointed once the appraisal shows the opposite.
Does that mean you will lose tons of money because your home is worth way less? Not necessarily. If you find the right company that buys houses, they will see the value and turn that spare room into a legal bedroom. There’s hope regardless of your plan!
Now, let’s dive into the specific legal requirements for a bedroom in California.
1. Size and Space
Size does matter when it comes to bedrooms in California. A legal bedroom must have at least 70 square feet of total floor space. No one dimension can be shorter than 7 feet in length.
“Can a room be considered a bedroom with 5-foot ceilings?”
It can, only if at least 50% of the total ceiling space is 7 feet tall! Sadly, you cannot have Harry Potter living underneath your stairs with short ceilings and call it a legal bedroom. A room with ceilings lower than 7 feet in height can disqualify it as a legal bedroom. The size of your room matters.
2. Window
A window, or another form of an exit, is required for any legal bedroom in California. This isn’t just for viewing how beautiful the Golden State is. An exit, such as a window, is a required feature for a bedroom because of safety. Why is that?
Windows in bedrooms must be big enough for an adult to climb through in case of an emergency. For example, if there’s a fire in the house, there must be a means of egress. This gives the person a way to escape from the fire out of the window. Although there are safe cities in California, wildfires are inevitable.
That’s why a room needs to have a window or exit door to be a legal bedroom.
3. Door
Yes, a door! Here, we are referring to an entrance. It might seem obvious, but to be a bedroom, a room needs an entrance door that can close. This provides privacy and a sense of personal space, which is crucial in any living area. Without any doorframe, the room can be viewed as an office, den, or man cave in the eyes of an appraiser.
4. Closet
Now, for the hardest pill to swallow out of them all…
Does a bedroom have to have a closet in California? In California, you’ll hear different answers from appraisers, contractors, and real estate agents. A room doesn’t need a closet to be considered a legal bedroom in CA. Phew.
According to the San Diego Municipal Code Chapter 11: Land Development Procedures (5-2021), here is what a bedroom means:
- “Bedroom means an enclosed space within a dwelling unit that is designed or could be used for sleeping and has or is designed to have a door permitting complete closure and separation from all kitchens, living room, and hallway areas. A room or other enclosed space is not considered a bedroom if it is the sole access to another bedroom.“
If your room doesn’t have a closet, it can still legally be a bedroom in California. However, if it’s missing an entrance, exit, or size requirement, not all hope is lost! Homeowners have gotten creative and found legal workarounds to counter this room issue. If you find yourself struggling to meet the legal requirements for converting your room into a legal bedroom, here are several options:
- Solution for a Bedroom that isn’t 70 square feet: knock down a wall that isn’t load bearing, and rebuild the wall a few feet back to meet the California Building Code bedroom requirements.
- Solution to a Bedroom without an entrance: knock out part of the drywall and add a window or entrance door if possible.
- Solution to a Bedroom without an entrance door: add a standard height door frame with a door that fully closes.
These solutions will help combat the 3 legal requirements for what qualifies a bedroom in California.
Solutions for a Bedroom without a Closet
The myth is debunked that your room does not need a closet to be a bedroom in California. Although these are the facts, certain home appraisers will still say otherwise. It’s common to see a home appraisal that doesn’t consider a room a bedroom because of a missing closet.
What should you do with your office room that you’d rather convert into a value-adding bedroom?
Install a Pop-up Closet
No closet? No problem. Installing a pop-up closet or a wardrobe unit is the most affordable solution to converting your room into a bedroom. It’s a great way to convince any doubtful appraisers that you meet the legal requirements without breaking the bank or knocking down walls.
Note, that the pop-up closet must be physically installed and attached to the wall. If it’s movable, it’s not considered a legal closet. Without stabilizing the pop-up closet to the wall, your office is not a bedroom in some appraisers’ eyes.
IKEA Pop-up Closet
Where can you buy a pop-up closet? IKEA has great closets that you can easily purchase, ship to your house, and install in your room. Spend a few hundred dollars and convert your room into a more livable bedroom. Building these yourself isn’t terribly hard. You don’t need a contractor to do this. However, mounting the closet to the wall can be tricky. Make sure you have the right tools for that.
Is It Worth Adding a Pop-up Closet to Your Room?
Being able to call your room a legal bedroom in California can potentially increase the value of your home. Thankfully, you don’t technically need a closet for that. Plus, it’s not always worth doing. Here is a scenario where it makes sense to add a pop-up closet to your future bedroom.
EXAMPLE: If comps nearby all have an additional bed compared to your house, townhome, or condo, it can be worth making sure meets those same standards. I would caveat this by looking at the demand for housing in your area too.
- If you’re selling a house in the hot market of San Diego, you might not need to add the closet and more. The demand is so high in certain areas that buyers will still pay a decent premium for your home.
- If you’re trying to sell a house in San Francisco, where the demand has dropped, adding a closet might be necessary to get a decent price for your place.
There’s another side to this coin when deciding if you should add a pop-up closet to your room. Many home appraisers base part of their valuation of a property on square footage. I’ve personally spoken to several appraisers in Southern California – and they have mixed opinions.
Some appraisers discount a rooms value if they see a pop-up closet vs a built-in one. Especially if the installation of the IKEA closet wasn’t done well, it can look bad. So will adding this closet really add that much value to your property knowing that it was a pop-up one? Maybe.
Build a Built-in Closet
A more expensive option to make sure your legal bedroom stand out in California is to build a built-in closet. Again, these aren’t legally required, but still add value. These are the traditional closets you’re used to seeing.
It will require you to cut out some of the drywall or sheetrock, built-in a closet, add framing, doors, and call in a day. This is an expensive way to do it. However, this will be your 100% guaranteed ticket to calling your legal bedroom in CA a beautiful one, as long as all 3 primary requirements are met.
Market the Room as an Optional Bedroom
If your room doesn’t have the right size requirements, an entrance, or an exit, get creative in how you market it. This is very market-dependent. For example, in San Diego, it’s common to see office rooms advertised as an “optional bedroom” or a flex space on the MLS.
Real estate agents will enter the information that way. However, the kicker is that when the listing aggregates to Zillow and Redfin, it counts the optional bedroom as a bedroom. Homebuyers have to read through the full property description to find out it’s not a legal bedroom.
This strategy is frowned upon in certain California markets. It really depends on the demand for housing in the area. In hot markets, serious buyers care less about little details because they just want a house. Don’t market a room as an optional bedroom when you go to sell if it’s not the norm in your city.
What is Considered a Bedroom in an Appraisal in California?
Although we covered this slightly already, to fully answer this question, here’s the truth. Appraisers are all different. While many follow similar strategies for appraising a property, there is a level of subjectivity that can impact your home’s value.
What do appraisers consider a legal bedroom in California? An appraiser looks for the following bedroom requirements:
- Size
- Natural light
- Direct exit to the outside
- Direct access to a hallway
You room doesn’t need a closet to be a legal bedroom. As noted above, appraisers also consider total square footage of a condo, townhome, or house when evaluating it. Yes, having another bedroom will increase the value of your property. However, if you slap a crummy-looking IKEA pop-up closet in a room, it may only help slightly.
“If you’re going to do it, do it the right way.”
Make sure your room meets the above criteria for it to be considered a legal bedroom in California. These factors can significantly affect your home’s value since bedrooms are a major component in determining a house’s market value. Plus, appraisers will discount any room that doesn’t meet the legal requirements.
FAQ About Legal Bedroom Requirements
Can you have a bedroom without a closet in CA?
Legally, yes. As noted in the San Diego Municipal Code Chapter 11: Land Development Procedures (5-2021), a room can be considered a bedroom in California without a closet. That doesn’t mean certain appraisers or real estate professionals will say otherwise. This myth has a ton of disinformation around it.
If you want to add a closet to your bedroom anyway, there are plenty of options for you. Built-in or pop-up closets can be installed on the wall – it’s something to consider when designing or remodeling your home.
Does Not Having a Closet Hurt Your Home's Value?
It depends. When there is low demand for housing in your area, not having a closet is bad. Bedrooms are a big selling point. If your 2-bedroom townhome is on the market versus other 3-bedroom ones, which do you think will sell quicker?
When properties receive offers within 1 week of being listed, not having a closet won’t hurt your home’s value as much. For example, the buyers may want to box out the competition and not care about if it has a closet or not. Whether a closet exists doesn’t stop a room from being a bedroom in California.