Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing Leases and Rentals

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Nov 12, 2008, at 5:33 PM, <maryvk [at] tellink.net> <maryvk [at] tellink.net>  
wrote:

>  leasing or even renting unsold units in the interim as we face  
> completion of our project in early 2009.  I'd appreciate "musts",  
> lessons learned and anything else you wish to share about cohousing  
> leases and rentals.

We have a lot of roommates that the homeowner deals with, sometimes on  
leases and sometimes month to month. Some participate in the community  
and some don't. In 8 years we've only had one problem with a person  
who was not an owner but we could have had the same problem if he/she  
had been an owner.

We always have at least 6-12 month leases on full units but the owners  
have handled the actual lease since we are fully owned. Again some  
have participated in the community and some not.

Participation has only been a problem, in my opinion, in one leased  
unit where the occupants had almost no interaction with the community.  
Roommates come and go, and sort of invisible. But a continuously  
"dead" unit in the middle of things got to many of us after a while.  
The people who had no concerns about workshare tolerated this better  
than those of us who did.

Have a clear lease for a specific period of time. We have had mixed  
communication with people who are leasing so it is important to see  
the lease, preferably before it is signed. If the community is  
leasing, this wouldn't be a problem. If  you have a household that is  
purchasing a unit but leasing it because they can't sell their own  
home, this could be a problem.

You want to know how long the lease is and that it requires the  
residents to observe community rules, participate, etc. Be clear that  
you expect full participation. The community may deliver this message  
more clearly than a homeowner who is pressed to find a renter.  
Interviewing the potential renter gives the message that the person is  
joining your community, not renting from an absentee landlord.

There are a lot of work issues, particularly for new communities. You  
need all the hands you can get. Absentee owners can be more of an  
issue than renters. What role do they have? Can they veto actions that  
they are not present to suffer?

You might have a common lease for both the community and homeowners.  
Stipulate that owners can add to the lease if they wish but not  
subtract from it.

Our people are very loath to enforce any rules. Some believe that we  
can't legally insist on anything and others just don't like to be  
"confrontational."

I don't think it is a big problem -- I'm just listing the things that  
we have found work better and where the assumptions differ.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing,Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org