Types of Private Households

Notably, private households are thought of as independently, free-standing structures in which people live. Although this is the traditional version and widely acknowledged, a household is fundamentally a place wherein you regularly live. And if you have a personal claim on the immediate structure surrounding that space, it qualifies as 'private' space. Literally, this is the formal basis of what constitutes a private household. 

According to the US Census Bureau:

'A household consists of all the people who occupy a housing unit. A house, an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room, is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters; that is, when the occupants do not live with any other persons in the structure and there is direct access from the outside ....  .' -

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/subject-definitions.html#:~:text=A%20person%20living%20alone%20in,family%22%20and%20%22nonfamily%22.

Succinctly, given the US Census Bureau's definition of 'household,' we see that there is room for using the meaning in plurality, as in, family households, single-person households, religious households, athiest households, and so on. But our focus is on four types of households. These are protected by floors, roofs, and tightly adjoining walls which's space is inherently isolated from the outside 'world.'  Struturally private:

1. Free-standing enclosed structures which are regarded single-family.

2. Free-standing duplex, also referred to as 'two-family home.'

3. Mobile home.

4. Multi-plex living unit, which is dubed a condomium , or a regular apartment arrangement.

Single-Family

A single-family home is normally considered a badge of honor when it is standing independent of other domestic settings. And if it is owned the household head has extraordinary latitude for hiring all sorts of home service contractors for a great number of projects. Yet this also places owners at greatest risk of losing the most due to an apparent higher risk of making a bad contractor selection.

Then among other single-family environments, the household heads are either leasing or renting the space. In this case, there are landlords who assume most, if not all accountability for hiring the help they need to maintain and improve these properties. In these events, those who lease or rent the houses have little to no authority to hire tradespersons needed for repairs and improvements. But if they moved into unfurnished homes, there is some leeway for hiring home service contractors on condition they did nothing the landlords forbade. This means, if there were outlets in the home for dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers -- to name a few - the residents would be at liberty to provide their own appliances. And if any of these break down, they can usually call in appliance technicians without consulting with the landlords. Appliance service businesses are contracting entities. Also, the appliance technicians who work independently are contractors.  However, some are price gougers or otherwise scoundrels. For sure, there are corrupt appliance technicians or freelancers who will not hesitate to make you another victim of home improvement fraud. Forget about the classical meaning. So even if you lease or rent the house, there can be quite a bit of prerogative you have for hiring contractors like appliance technicians for improving your home environment. When they do not, then not only are you defrauded, but so is your entire household. Subsequently, sometimes we have to reason 'outside of the box' to call home improvement fraud for what it is. Nevertheless, even those who rent and lease property can be subject to it.

Duplex

A duplex or two-family home, as you know, is one which has two separate living units with two separate entrances. But it is often owned by one party or real estate entity. The owner might live in one unit, and the lessee or renter in the other. Or one household might be rented, the other leased. Both might be rented or leased. No doubt, a duplex's residents can entail owner, lessee, or renter depending on arrangement priorities of whoever has ultimate legal control of the property.

However, although the owner of the duplex is the one with the greatest authority surrounding decisions for hiring tradespeople or home service contractors, those who lease or rent one or the other unit can have limited latitude under certain conditions. Yet what they all have in common is the potential of being massively hoodwinked through making disastrous contractor hiring decisions. Each is a targeted prey of rogue contracting entities and individual tradespersons in the realm of home improvement and other services. This is as certain as the transition from day into night, and night into day.

Mobile Home

A mobile home which has one or more people living in it is also a household. Plus, these are also variously owned, leased, and rented. Although these are highly regulated by federal and local laws for  primarily public health and safety reasons, these are nonetheless 'home.' According to multiple stats, the number of people liviing in mobile homes in the US is roughly 20 million. One of these sources is NPR:

'Nationwide, some 20 million Americans live in mobile homes, and almost three million of these residences sit on high-flood-risk land. '

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1183040896/of-the-americans-living-in-mobile-homes-3-million-of-them-reside-in-high-flood-a#:~:text=Transcript-,Almost%2020%20million%20Americans%20live%20in%20mobile%20homes.,the%20country's%20affordable%20housing%20crises.

Despite the literal greater fragility of mobile homes by comparison to homes with permanent foundations rooted into the ground, there are occasional repairs and vital home improvement and other significant services required from contracting entities. Also, depending on who owns, leases, and rents the mobile home, there are varying risks for being defrauded by malicious contracting enties and freelancers who offer services ranging from painting and structural repairs to some electronics installation. No doubt, even those who deliver and install streaming equipment might operate as contractors. Select the wrong one, and the consequences can be so devastating that if you do not own the mobile home, you might not be able to afford keeping it. So you need to be sharp about the choices you make.

Multi-Plex Living Unit

As you know, a multi-plex within the context of housing, is a building which contains three or more living units. These are either owned, leased, or rented. Yet each one is home for the person or people living there. It is reasonable to say when we live in a multi-plex it is collectively 'our' building. Literally,  as a whole, we are living in common by virtue of the commonality of all living in the same residential structure.

However, there is something else we all have in common: our own private space within the belly of the lone structure about which we can say, 'I live here.' We have our own door through which to enter and exit our abode as we choose, and  sealed walls, ceiling, and floor space within which we can boldly claim solitude and a respectable measure of personal freedom and privacy from the 'outside world.' That could be  just on the other side of the door in the hall or the street. And according to whether we own, lease, or rent this household, we can also hire tradespersons within the latitude or limitations of our deed, lease, or rental agreement.

Conclusion

Finally, irrespective of whether the place we call home is categorized single-family, duplex, mobile, condominium, or apartment, there are two types of tradespersons or home service contractors who will sooner or later offer you a great deal. If it is tempting enough for you to consider, you might want  to first get their information, then get back to them in a day or so.

Meanwhile, as you have reclaimed your personal time to think about it, use it to learn a lot more about them via your device. Implement one of the most basic discovery techniques which entails searching your device for the name of the company, finding out who really runs it, then searching for complaints. Ninety percent-plus of the time you will uncover a lot more about the company and about who is asking for your money. Just that blunt. The core of contractor solicitations. Be sharp. One of a few ways to stay on top of things is to know who you are dealing with. There were over two dozen homeowners who collectively were defrauded of approxminately $1M in separate payments of reportedly thousands  to over $100,000  to primarily two rogue contractors. The case was in court earlier in 2025. Do you think they knew who they were dealing with?  According to the report, the victims were led to believe they were legimitate engineers and such. And a most startling aspect is that the dishonest tradesmen engaged in the same or similar activity in reportedly four, different states. Did you know these sort of things occur on a national scale? These have been going on for so many years you can lose count. This is a progressive epidemic. And anyone one who has an estabished home to guard is daily in the sights of malicious contractors. And if you are not shored up to protect the sanctity of your home, when they arrive you might not know who they really are until the aftermath. 

Finally, the mission represented by Home Project Defense and related advocacy initiatives elsewhere is to assist sharing critical information to enable you to see what victims do not. And most of the time they do not see because they either searched in the wrong places, or avoided so doing because they may have considered it unnecessary. But, back to the $1M account, it is apparent that one, the other, or both approaches were in the mix, since had they researched well, many will have known the contractors were illegitimate. You might sense the need to research well enough. All said, here is the $1M account: Ref.

Home Is The Best Place In The World!

Works by RB