R. Kelly Insists Chicago Studio is Not a Residence, Denies Breaking Law

One of R. Kelly's bedrooms has him in serious trouble with Chicago officials ... but he insists they've got it all twisted, because his controversial studio has never been used as a home.

The Chicago studio, heavily featured in "Surviving R. Kelly," was swarmed this week by Chicago cops and the Cook County Building and Zoning Department -- and they ended up filing a complaint against Kelly.

The officials say there's evidence he's using the place as a residence, and had done renovations without getting permits.

Sources close to Kelly tell us that he's denying ever living in the studio. Although he admits having a bed in there, he says it was only there for extra long recording sessions -- 14 to 15 hours -- when he was too exhausted to make it home, or if there was a bad winter storm.

We're told he also points to the fact that he has a real residence at Chi-Town's Trump Tower.

As for the alleged renovations ... our sources say Kelly believes the studio is exactly as it was when he first started renting the space 3-4 years ago. He says the single bedroom area was already there, and he simply added furniture.

Fact is, Kelly's got bigger fish to fry than the building code violation. He and Sony, his longtime record label, just parted ways ... his ex-manager was arrested for making threats against Joycelyn Savage's family ... and he's still plagued by allegations of sexual abuse.