You are not legally an adult until you are 18. At 17 you cannot contract so you could not sign a lease or any other contract. You could not obtain medical treatment without parental consent. However, if you can show that you can fully support yourself without the need for state aid, you could ask a court to emancipate you and then you would be treated as an adult.
Answered on Nov 12th, 2012 at 11:39 PM