The 3 defining characteristics of a "bedroom"

One question that I encounter often is whether or not a specific room can be listed as a "bedroom". Buyers are often disappointed when they walk into a home and find that one of the bedrooms is actually a "flex room", gym or office. But what actually is a bedroom? Well, it really depends on who you ask, but I go by the International Residential Code, which establishes 3 defining characteristics:

Entrance/Exit

According to the IRC, there must be 2 methods of egress, or access into and out of the room. One will definitely be a door of some kind. The other can be another door or (more commonly) a window. But any old window wont work, it must be sized such that a person could reasonably pass through it in the case of an emergency. A bedroom window can be between 24 and 44 inches from the floor, it needs at least 5.7 square feet for the opening, and it must measure no less than 24 inches high and 20 inches wide (R310.1).

Height

A bedroom ceiling needs to be at least 7 ft tall. It’s okay if some portions of the ceiling are below this level, but at least 50% of the ceiling needs to be a minimum of 7 ft in height. Most ceilings tend to be at least 8 ft tall, so ceiling height is not usually an issue (R305.1).

Size

The room must be at least 70 sq.ft. in size, and must be at least 7 feet in any lateral dimension. (R304.2 / R304.4)

And...that's it! Even if a room does not have a closet, it still can be considered a bedroom, which is why you might find that flex room, gym, or office listed as a bedroom on the listing. I don't like it either, but I don't make the rules!