# Basement apartment

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A **basement apartment** or **basement flat** is an [apartment](/source/Apartment) located below [street](/source/Street) level, underneath another structure—usually an [apartment building](/source/Apartment_building), but also [homes](/source/House) and businesses. Cities in [North America](/source/North_America) legally define them as an [accessory dwelling unit](/source/Accessory_dwelling_unit) or "ADU". [Rent](/source/Renting) in basement apartments is usually lower than above-ground units, due to deficiencies common to basement apartments, which are often cramped, and typically noisy, especially due to passing traffic.[1] They are also particularly vulnerable to [burglary](/source/Burglary), especially those with windows at sidewalk level. In some instances, residential use of below-ground space is illegal, but practiced regardless.[1]Owning a home with a basement apartment can be an investment, both providing an income stream and adding to the value of the property.[2]

## Health risks

Health risks of basement apartments include [mold](/source/Mold_(fungus)),[3] [radon](/source/Radon), and an increased likelihood of injury or death due to fire.[citation needed] However, the risks are reflected in lower rents.[4]

Basement apartment tenants are more likely to be injured or die due to fires.[5][6] Many landlords do not follow fire code regulations, and often such regulations are not enforced by governments.[citation needed]

Flooding is particularly dangerous in basement apartments. When [Hurricane Ida](/source/Hurricane_Ida) passed over the northeast of the United States, most of the deaths were caused due to flooding in basement apartments.[7][8]

## In fiction

[Ruth McKenney](/source/Ruth_McKenney) based a series of stories in *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*, later republished in the book *[My Sister Eileen](/source/My_Sister_Eileen)*, on her experiences living with her sister in a moldy, one-room basement apartment, directly adjoining the [Christopher Street](/source/Christopher_Street_(IRT_Broadway%E2%80%93Seventh_Avenue_Line)) [subway](/source/New_York_City_Subway) station on the , at 14 [Gay Street](/source/Gay_Street_(Manhattan)), in [Greenwich Village](/source/Greenwich_Village) for which she paid $45 a month ().[9] The apartment was burgled within the first week during the six months they lived there. The book was later adapted into a Hollywood movie.

A basement apartment at 5 St. Luke's Place in New York City’s Greenwich Village serves as the setting for both the 1966 play and 1967 movie “[Wait Until Dark](/source/Wait_Until_Dark)”.

## See also

- [English basement](/source/English_basement)
- [Penthouse apartment](/source/Penthouse_apartment)

## References

1. David W. Chen, [Be It Ever So Low, the Basement Is Often Home](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02EFD6153CF936A15751C0A9629C8B63), *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* (February 25, 2004).

1. ["Basement Apartment"](https://basementbro.ca/blog/A-Step-By-Step-Guide-For-Converting-A-Basement-Into-A-Self-Sufficient-Apartment). Basement Bro. Retrieved 7 Mar 2019.

1. ["The Tenant's Guide to Mold"](https://archive.today/20130101011418/http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/reho/reho_009.cfm). Archived from [the original](http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/reho/reho_009.cfm) on 2013-01-01.

1. Alina Tanasescu; Ernest Chui Wing-tak; Alan Smart (October 2010). "Tops and bottoms: State tolerance of illegal housing in Hong Kong and Calgary". *Habitat International*. **34** (4): 478–484. [doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.02.004](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.02.004). [hdl:10722/222187](https://hdl.handle.net/10722/222187)

1. Apartment Ratings. ["4 Safety Tips When Living in Basement Apartments"](http://ohmyapt.apartmentratings.com/4-safety-tips-when-living-in-basement-apartments.html). *Health & Safety*. Retrieved 28 September 2012.

1. CBC News. ["1 dead in Edmonton house fire"](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/1-dead-in-edmonton-house-fire-1.1200084). Retrieved 28 September 2012.

1. ["What we know about the people who died in the flooding."](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/nyregion/ida-new-york-city-deaths.html). *The New York Times*. 2021-09-02. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2021-09-24.

1. ["New York floods: calls for action after 11 die in basement apartments"](http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/04/new-york-floods-11-die-basement-apartments). *the Guardian*. 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2021-09-24.

1. *My Sister Eileen*, pg. 197.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Basement apartment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basement_apartment) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basement_apartment?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.