contract-law rent
Can someone contract to waive their renter/dwelling rights?
<p>Here is a completely hypothetical question.</p>

<p>If I wanted to take a homeless person off the street, and let them move into a spare room/house, do they have any tenant's rights (i.e. I can't kick them out without a huge legal headache and court orders and such)?</p>

<p>If they have the aforementioned rights, can they "sign away" these rights prior to moving in?</p>

<p>How is the situation altered if consideration is involved? For example,  if I wanted to have the person as a live-in housekeeper, where their continued stay in the house would be based on their work.</p>

<p>As user6726 said, a contract to sign away statutory tenant rights is virtually never going to be enforceable. Tenancy is a situation that basically always involves contracts; the whole <em>point</em> of statutory rights is to limit the scope of these contracts. Waiving tenancy rights would be sort of like waiving minimum wage.</p>

<p>"Consideration" doesn't change anything, because it's assumed when you're talking about contracts. A contract without consideration is void. However, while your example of consideration isn't really what "consideration" means, it <em>is</em> a possible exception to tenancy rights. Certain situations are generally excluded from statutory tenancy rights; for instance, being in the hospital for two months doesn't make you a tenant. RCW 59.18.050 (to go with user6726's Washington theme) also excludes</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Occupancy by an employee of a landlord whose right to occupy is conditioned upon employment in or about the premises.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In other words: You can provide your employee with housing that they only keep as long as they work for you, and in that case they're not a tenant. A live-in housekeeper is a perfect example of this.</p>

<p>Washington state is the most feasible. <a href="http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=59.18.085" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RCW 59.18.085(6)(c)</a> states that "An occupancy agreement, whether oral or written, in which the provisions of this section are waived is deemed against public policy and is unenforceable". Accordingly, you cannot sign away your statutory rights. I don't know of any state where you can.</p>

<p>The state constitution and laws made thereunder automatically apply to everyone via the recognized <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_power_(United_States_constitutional_law)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">police power</a>. You can't opt out unless the law explicitly states you can, as <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/a/19641/66">pointed out in another answer</a>. Every state's laws are different. </p>
