Questions & answers

We check every address against Google when a room gets posted, and a lot of hosts verify their ID. You'll see a badge if they have. Even so, go see the room before you pay anything. Don't send money by wire, gift card, or cash app to hold a room you haven't been inside.

No. We don't ask, and there's nowhere to put it. Not on your profile, not on an application. If a host asks you directly, that tells you something about them. There's free legal help on our Resources page if you want to know where you stand.

Not to use Unido. Hosts set their own requirements. A lot of people renting out one room care more about steady income and a good reference than a credit score. The listing tells you what that host wants before you apply.

Usually the first month's rent plus a deposit. Every listing shows both and adds them up, so you know the number before you go. If a listing doesn't say, ask.

Who else lives there and what you share. What's included in rent and what costs extra. How and when you pay. The rules on guests, noise, and cooking. How much notice each of you gives to end it. Who to call when something breaks. Get the answers in writing. A message in the app counts.

Take photos the day you move in. Every wall, the floor, the closet, anything already broken. Unido has a move-in checklist you both sign, and you each keep a copy. Do it again when you leave. Then nobody has to remember what the room looked like.

Tell us. You can also file a complaint. California's Civil Rights Department and HUD both take housing discrimination complaints for free, and you don't need a lawyer. There are free legal aid offices in the Valley too. They're all on our Resources page. There are deadlines, so don't wait on it.

Yes, and you should. A lot of hosts post times you can book right from the listing. If they haven't, ask. If a host won't let you see the room before you pay, don't rent it.

Only the host of a room you message or apply to. Your income shows as a range, not an exact number. We never ask for a bank login or a Social Security number. We don't sell or share your information.

Ask about the arrangement. Schedules, parking, pets, how long they plan to stay, whether they can cover rent. Unido blocks application questions and house rules that mention a protected class. It checks in the browser and again on our server, and it tells you why if a question gets rejected. California's Civil Rights Department page covers what the law includes. It's on our Resources page.

Fresno has a rental registration program and signing up is free. Whether it covers one bedroom in a house you live in is a question for the City. Call them or check the page on our Resources list before you assume it doesn't apply to you. There are late fees, so it's worth asking early.

Put it on the listing so people see it before they message you. California limits how much you can take, and the limit depends on your situation. Read the state's guide on our Resources page and check yours before you pick a number.

You want one. It's what settles a disagreement about rent, the deposit, notice, or house rules six months later. Unido builds one from your listing and you both sign it here. Or handle it yourself. Up to you.

It can change a lot, including which agreement you use and how it ends. Unido asks whether you live there and whether this is the only room you rent, then sets you up accordingly. The differences are real, so read the state's guide, and ask a lawyer if you're not sure which one describes you.

In writing, with notice. How much notice depends on your setup and how long they've lived there, so check the state's guide first. One thing doesn't depend on anything: never change the locks, move someone's things out, or shut off the utilities to make them leave. The penalties are serious and it ends up costing more than doing it the right way.

Give it back with an itemized list of anything you kept and receipts to back it up, within the time the state allows. Unido walks you through the list. The thing that helps most happens earlier though. Write down the room's condition together on move-in day.

Assume yes, and talk to a tax preparer about your situation. The IRS has a guide on renting out part of your home that uses a rented bedroom as its example. It's on our Resources page. An hour with someone who knows this pays for itself.

Agree on it in writing at the start and put it in the house rules. How much notice you'll give, and what for. The rules are different depending on your setup, and this is one of the fuzzier parts of California room rental law, so settle it up front instead of finding out later that you disagree.