MLSNI Rules on How to Count Rooms

Effective 4/1/97 (revised 5-2-01 from MLSNI 1997 rules)

An article from Sept. 2003 MLSNI's Multiple Solutions

Interpreted by the North Shore-Barrington Association of REALTORS®

Heated:To qualify as heated, there must be a permanently attached, or ducted heating source within the room.3-13-97

Attic: to qualify as attic rooms, the attic must have permanent access (i.e. staircase). Attics with "pull down" staircase do NOT qualify.

Room: can be open on 1, 2, or 3 sides; does NOT have to have minimum square foot qualification.

Bedroom: private room capable of being closed off from other living space that does not have its only entrance from another bedroom. Basement bedrooms may  NOT be counted in total bedroom count, but it still must be entered as bedrooms in listing input. 

Bathroom: Can NOT be counted in total rooms.  Basement or lower level bathrooms may be counted in the total bath (BTH) field.  

               Fullbath= must have 3 of the following components:  a bath, a shower (shower head or shower stall), a sink, a toilet.

                Halfbath= must have 2 of the components listed in "Fullbath", there is no specification as to the type of sink. Therefore, if a laundry sink is one of the two components of a half-bath, it may be counted.

Tandem rooms: used as bedrooms, while countable as 2 separate rooms are countable as only 1 bedroom.

Minimum square: feet qualifications should be used in tandem with any local building code standards

Basement (B): an area whose floor is located more than 50% below adjacent grade level

Lower Level (L): an area not more than 50% below adjacent grade level

Walk Out Basement (W): a basement with at least 1 side whose floor is at grade level with access to grade level, and floor level shall be defined a W (walkout)

English Basement (L): not more than 50% below adjacent grade level

Main Level (1): Entry level to the property

Attic Level (A): a level immediately below the eaves of a roof

Not Applicable (N): AN@ shall be entered in the Level field for which there is no corresponding room

Basement Bathrooms (Y/N)

Basement or lower level bathrooms may be counted in the total bath (BTH) field.  

Grade Levels:

To eliminate basement bedrooms bedrooms from a search:

MBL<>B OR B2L<> OR B3L<> or B4L<>B

To eliminate basement family room from a search:

FRL<>B

To eliminate basement bathrooms bathrooms from a search:

BB=N

MLSNI's official room count rules:

MLSNI, Inc. Room Counting Guidelines 

The Multiple Listing Service of Northing Illinois, Inc. Board of 
Directors adopted a set of room counting guidelines to be followed 
when listing Property Types 1 (Detached Single Family), 2 (Attached 
Single Family) & 6 (Residential Rental), in the MLSNI Compass 
system. These guidelines go into effect on April 1, 1997. 

The main changes to Residential Listing Input forms are as follows: 

A new field "Basement Bathrooms? (Y/N)", will be added to 
listing input for Property Types 1 (Detached Single Family), 
2 (Attached Single Family) & 6 (Residential Rental), grade 
levels will be required fields and levels will be defined as: 
Basement=B; Walk-out Basement=W; Lower Level=L; Main (Entry) 
Level=1, Second Level=2, Third Level=3, Fourth Level=4; 
Attic=A; Not Applicable=N. (No other entries in the level 
field(s) will be admitted.) 

For Property Types 1 (Detached Single Family), 2 (Attached 
Single Family), 3 (Two to Four Units), 5 (Land) & 6 
(Residential Rental) the BAS section on the Residential Listing 
Sheets, Coded Field "B-Bathroom-Partial" will be modified to 
"B-Bathroom-Half". 

Attached are level and room definitions and guidelines, and search 
criteria examples that MLSNI Subscribers may wish to use after the 
room counting guidelines go into effect. 

ALL ROOM COUNTING GUIDELINES/DEFINITIONS GIVEN BELOW ARE SUPERCEDED 
BY LOCAL MUNICIPALITY BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS. THE ROOM 
COUNTING GUIDELINES ARE INTENDED TO BE USED IN TANDEM WITH LOCAL 
BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS. 


LEVEL & ROOM DEFINITIONS 

LEVEL DEFINITIONS 

Basement=B 
Walk-out Basement=W 
Lower Level=L 
Main (Entry) Level=1 
Second Level=2 
Third Level=3 
Fourth Level=4 
Attic=A 
Not Applicable=N 

Basement (B): A basement area shall be defined as an area whose 
floor is located more than 50% below adjacent grade level. 

Lower Level (L): Lower level shall be defined as an area that is 
not more than 50% below adjacent grade level (includes English 
Basement). 

Walk Out Basement (W): A walk-out basement shall be defined as a 
basement with at least one side whose floor is at grade level with 
access to grade level, and floor level shall be defined as "W" 
(Walkout). 

Main Level (1): The main level is defined as the Entry level to the 
Property. 

Attic Level (A): The attic level is defined as a level immediately 
below the eaves of a roof. 

Not Applicable (N): "N" shall be entered in the Level field for 
which there is no corresponding room. 


ROOM DEFINITIONS 

A ROOM 
* A room is defined as improved, heated living space, with the 
exception of bathrooms and utility space. 
* This definition excludes unheated areas such as porches, 
breezeways, sunrooms, attics and utility areas such as laundry 
rooms, mud rooms, and foyers. 
* It does include lofts, open concept rooms which lack one or more 
walls, tandem rooms, sitting rooms, and other heated rooms. 
* A room can be open on one, two or three sides. 
* A room does not have to have a minimum square foot qualification. 
* Any room which meets ALL of these criteria may be counted in the 
room count regardless of grade level. 
*Basement bedrooms may be counted in total room count but may NOT be 
included in total bedrooms count. 

A BEDROOM: 
* Basement bedrooms may NOT be counted in total bedrooms count. 
* A bedroom is defined as a private room capable of being closed 
off from other living space which does not have its only 
entrance from another bedroom. This definition will meet 
appraiser standards for bedrooms and would exclude tandem rooms. 
* A room without a closet can be countable as a bedroom. 

FULL BATHROOM 
To qualify as a full bathroom in the BTH field, the bathroom must 
comprise of at least three of the following components: a bath, a 
shower (shower head or shower stall), a sink, a toilet. Basement 
or lower level bathrooms may be counted in the total bath (BTH) 
field. 

A HEATED UNFINISHED AREA: 
* A heated unfinished area shall be countable in total room count. 

A LOFT AREA: 
* A loft area may be counted as a room but not as a bedroom. 

BATHROOMS: 
* Bathrooms shall not be countable in total room count regardless of 
their size. 

COMBINED ROOMS: 

* For combined rooms, allow one room-count that serves or can serve 
a purpose distinctly different from the other areas, e.g. a Living 
Room/Dining Room combination may be counted as two (2) rooms. 

ENTRY or FOYER: 
* An entry or foyer shall not be countable in total room count. 

FURNACE ROOMS: 
* Furnace rooms shall not be countable in total room count 
regardless of their size. 

HALF-BATHROOM: 
* A half-bathroom shall be defined as having a functional sink and 
toilet (rough-ins may not be counted). Basement or lower level 
half-bathrooms may be counted in the total bath (BTH) field. 

HEATED 
To qualify as "heated" there must be a permanently attached or 
ducted heating source within the room. 

HEATED ENCLOSED PORCH OR BREEZEWAY: 
* A heated enclosed porch or breezeway shall be countable in total 
room count. 

HEATED SUNROOM: 
* A heated sunroom shall be countable in total room count. 

ATTIC 
To qualify as Attic Rooms, the attic must have a permanent access 
(i.e. staircase). Attics with "pull-down" staircases do NOT 
qualify. 

HEATED UNFINISHED ATTIC: 
* A heated unfinished attic shall be countable in total room count. 

LAUNDRY ROOM: 
* Laundry rooms shall not be countable in total room count 
regardless of their size. 

MUD ROOMS: 
* Mud rooms shall not be countable in total room count regardless of 
their size. 

SCREENED PORCH OR BREEZEWAY: 
* A screened porch or breezeway shall not be countable in total room 
count. 

SITTING ROOM: 
* A sitting room shall be countable in total room count but not as a 
bedroom. 

TANDEM ROOMS: 
* Tandem rooms shall be countable as two separate rooms. 

TANDEM BEDROOMS: 
* Tandem rooms used as bedrooms, while countable as two separate 
rooms, are countable as only a single bedroom. 

UNHEATED AREAS: 
* Unheated areas shall not be countable in total room count. 

UNHEATED ATTIC: 
* An unheated attic shall not be countable in total room count. 

UNHEATED ENCLOSED PORCH OR BREEZEWAY: 
* An unheated enclosed porch or breezeway shall not be countable in 
total room count. 

UNHEATED SUNROOM: 
* An unheated sunroom shall not be countable in total room count. 

UTILITY ROOMS: 
* Utility rooms shall not be countable in total room count 
regardless of their size. 


SEARCH CRITERIA EXAMPLES 

To ELIMINATE basement bedrooms from a search, enter the following 
criteria: 

MBL<>B OR B2L<>B OR B3L<>B OR B4L<>B 
(Master Bedroom Level exclude Basement; 2nd Bedroom Level exclude 
Basement; 3rd Bedroom Level exclude Basement; 4th Bedroom Level 
exclude Basement) 

To ELIMINATE a basement family room from a search, enter the 
following criteria: 

FRL<>B 
(Family Room Level exclude Basement) 

To ELIMINATE basement bathrooms from a search, enter the following 
criteria: 

BB=N 
(Exclude properties with bathrooms located in Basement)