Rooming House Ordinance
On September 7, 2000, the City Commission adopted the "Rooming House Ordinance" to address concerns about dormitory style housing in existing single-family residential neighborhoods. The ordinance was adopted in response to concerns that when a large number of people rented rooms in one home, there were sometimes negative side effects such as cars parked in the yard, frequent parties and other disturbances. The Rooming House Ordinance was designed to help protect the character and stability of our neighborhoods, while also respecting individual property rights.
A registration process was established to "grandfather" existing dormitory style housing in single-family residential neighborhoods. Unless the property owner registered the house as an existing non-conforming use on or before June 1, 2001, no dwelling could continue to be used as a rooming housing in the RP-1, RP-2, R-1 or R-2 single-family residential zoning districts. Additionally, no new rooming houses would be permitted in RP-1, RP-2, R-1 or R-2. As part of the registration process, property owners were required to appoint an agent, who lives in Leon County, as the person responsible for the property. The designated agent must be available to be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The agent is the party designated to receive all notices from the City concerning the use of the property.
As part of the Rooming House Ordinance, a process was established to address problems that may occur at grandfathered rooming houses. A Rooming House Code Board has been established to make the final decision about whether a registered rooming house that has been the source of complaints will lose its status as a non-conforming use.
The City has compiled a list of registered rooming houses. The list contains the address of all registered rooming houses and the name and telephone number of the agent responsible for the rooming house. This information has been provided to enable neighbors to contact the designated agent for the property in the event that problems occur. If you have more questions, or wish for more information on how to register a complaint, please visit our Points of Contact page .
- View the list of registered rooming houses and agent contact numbers (PDF)
- Download Rooming House Ordinance Enforcement Plan (PDF)