Basement bedroom code compliance
Calling a room a bedroom on a listing or a rental license is a code question, not a decorating one. Here's what usually has to be true.
An appraiser, home inspector, rental inspector or buyer may all ask the same question about a basement room: is there a legal way out? If the only window is a small one near the ceiling, the answer is no, and the room may not count as a bedroom.
When does a basement room need an egress window?
Under the 2020 Minnesota Residential Code, every sleeping room needs at least one emergency escape and rescue opening. When a basement contains sleeping rooms, each of those rooms needs its own, though other parts of the basement don't. A new sleeping room created in an existing basement needs one. Repairs and alterations to an existing basement that don't create a bedroom don't, on their own, trigger the requirement. A fully sprinklered basement or bedroom is an exception.
What else does the inspector look at?
- Smoke alarms. Duluth's basement-finishing handout says smoke alarms are required when sleeping rooms are added or created in an existing dwelling.
- Plans. The same handout asks for scaled floor plans, ceiling height, light and ventilation, and a site plan if the egress window has a well.
- The window and well. Opening size, sill height, well size, ladder and any cover.
Renting out a Duluth house?
The City of Duluth's Fire Department Life Safety Division licenses rental housing and sends a housing inspector to identify code corrections. Its one-family rental application says licenses are issued for a maximum of four legal bedrooms, or five for homes larger than 2,500 square feet as of July 13, 2017. If you're counting a basement room toward that number, ask the Life Safety Division what it needs to qualify before you advertise it.
Buying or selling?
If a listing counts a basement bedroom, ask whether a permit was issued for the egress window and the finished space. A missing permit doesn't always mean a problem, but it's worth knowing before closing. An installer can measure the existing opening and tell you whether it meets the minimums.
Superior and Wisconsin
Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code requires basements used for sleeping to have at least two exits, and one way to provide the second is a code-compliant egress window in each bedroom. The window dimensions and well rules differ from Minnesota's; the guide lays them side by side.
The installer prices the job after seeing the wall, the yard outside it and the room inside. We don't quote prices, and a number given over the phone before anyone has looked at the foundation is only a rough starting point.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Can I call a basement room a bedroom without an egress window?
Under the Minnesota code, a sleeping room needs an escape opening unless the basement is sprinklered. Listing it as a bedroom without one invites trouble with appraisers, inspectors and buyers.
Do I need a permit to finish a basement bedroom in Duluth?
Plan on it. Duluth's Construction Services and Inspections division handles building permits, and its basement-finishing handout lists what plans to submit.
Related services
More background: Duluth egress window guide.
Finishing the basement or adding a bedroom down there?
Call now and a local egress installer will look at the wall and quote the opening, the window and the well.