Cohousing-L Mailing List: rental policy in these economic times

[Brian Tremback (brian.tremback]

Lisa Lackey said: "I recently learned that most cohousings don't have a
rental policy.  So, my question is:  if you are in a cohousing without a
rental policy, do you regret it?  Has anyone run into problems not having a
rental policy?"

At Burlington Cohousing we recently adopted a rental policy limiting
rentals to 7 out of 32 units. Because of our location - near the University
of Vermont and the largest hospital in the state - we were concerned about
our community becoming rental investment property. Our Declaration of
Condominium already included language that allowed us to limit rentals on
the basis of meeting the requirements of lenders regarding the percentage
of rentals, so we were able to adopt the policy as one of our 'Rules and
Regulations'. The owners of the 6 rented units at the time of adoption,
were exempted from the policy until ownership changes or it once again
becomes owner-occupied so, at least for a while, there will be units with
longer-term rentals. This does not guarantee that the owners of those
rental units will renew the lease - the absentee landlord may have other
priorities.

In our discussions leading up to approval of the policy, there were also
concerns about inflexibility. The recognition that, if there is agreement,
the rental cap could be raised, satisfied those with concerns. So, I guess
my question back to you is, if people in your community regret having a
policy, why not change it?


Brian Tremback
Burlington Cohousing
Vermont