Both my cousin and myself have lived in apartment like this - there's such a high demand for affordable housing, it's not usual for homeowners to convert their basements into apartments and charge rent - without considering contracts or housing codes.
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Understandable considering in some area's apartments cost 'more' than the monthly mortgage on some houses. The only downside is that the owners of the house can be fined by the city for violating codes and if there's, say a fire, insurance will deny their claim for being out of code.