Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Short-term rentals

[Mary Vallier-Kaplan (marycvk]

We agree with you that renters, housemates, etc. as are units of different
shapes and sizes a way to help embrace all in a cohousing community.  It
would be helpful if you could share with us some of Cornerstone's
successful  ways of engaging non-owners more successfully in a cohousing
community.

Thank you.
Mary V-K



On Sun, Nov 3, 2013 at 9:32 AM, R Philip Dowds <rpdowds [at] comcast.net> wrote:

>
> What intrigues me about these renter discussions are the two underlying
> presumptions that:
>      (1) Homeownership imbues both households and communities with a
> mystic positive aura that promotes enlightened self-interest, responsible
> participation, and domestic tranquility; while ...
>      (2) Renters (if tolerated at all) are potential problems that always
> need thoughtful and vigilant management.
>
> Basically, this is bunk.
>
> Nationwide, our owner-occupied dwelling unit rate is around two-thirds,
> although this proportion favors the aged and disfavors young adults and
> families.  Further, the “high” average includes suburban and rural location
> where homeownership runs very high.  But most cities do not see the same
> high rates.  Manhattan owner occupancy is about 20% of occupied residential
> units; even Manhattan’s famous co-ops have trouble breaking beyond the 50%
> threshold.  In Cambridge (MA), owner occupancy is only about 35%.
>
> Manhattan and Cambridge are healthy, functional, vital and exciting urban
> centers; nobody would regard them as failed cities.  Detroit, on the other
> hand, is about to go belly up.  The owner-occupancy rate of Detroit is
> about 70% … although that includes abandoned properties for which the
> resident owner can no longer be found.
>
> I will, of course, acknowledge that demographics in suburban and rural
> areas are much different from city demographics.  But instead of trying to
> “manage” the “renter problem”, sometimes we would do better to understand
> that if we want our coho communities to be reasonable cross-sections of our
> town or city or region, we would be actively figuring out how to
> accommodate renters and welcoming them to join us.
>
> R Philip Dowds
> Cornerstone Village Cohousing
> Cambridge, MA
>
> On Nov 3, 2013, at 7:13 AM, Mary Vallier-Kaplan <marycvk [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>
> >
> > Some additional thoughts as after 5 years of initial sales post recession
> > we are beginning to assess our experience to date with renters, etc.
> >
> > Lessons learned:  Short term rentals vs long term rentals
> >
> > Renters who are here with less than a 3 month intended stay in general
> and
> > even when they are great people have less of an investment in the
> community
> > so we now do a more "functional" orientation than a full investment  to
> > integrate them into the community.   We have learned that the landlord
> > needs to physically be here to help the person successfully transition
> into
> > the unit on the first day.   We do expect the landlord to orient them to
> > the living requirements like recycling, parking, heat, etc.  We do
> welcome
> > them to meals and to observe meetings etc. but most do not.   Most do not
> > highly engage in community.  Some times they join in for the fun but not
> > the work which can be an irritant as the rest of us work, work, work.
> >
> > Renters who intend to be here greater than 3 months receive the same
> > integration investment as an owner and are given the same rights and
> > responsibilities other than annual budget decisions and a few other
> "owner"
> > exclusive rights which are very few in our community.  They are expected
> to
> > be an active member of at least one team, attend Plenary, participate in
> > workday, attend meals, etc.  In general this is what they want and this
> is
> > what we want.  We ask the landlord to share these expectations before
> unit
> > is rented and if there are any issues, we ask the landlord to become
> > involved.  To date all of these folks have invested in the same way with
> > work like on the farm.  They don't seem however to engage quite as much
> in
> > community development and community life such as figuring how to manage
> > conflict or building a new equipment barn or a more developed workshare
> > system.
> >
> > We don't have any guidelines about when and how often you can rent or
> have
> > housemates.  We will be having a conversation this year about that now
> that
> > we have experience with renters.  Certainly those who live here full time
> > know they want all others to be committed in the same way to the
> community.
> > We don't know yet if that means we want to limit rentals in any way but
> if
> > the majority of the community was absentee landlords I think personally
> our
> > community would be concerned.  So do we put in any agreements from
> > preventing that happening?  I'd like to hear from others.
> >
> > Housemates are a different breed.  We've only had a few.  To date each
> one
> > has played a different role.  We don't have any guidelines about their
> > roles and responsibilities.  Any thoughts?  Long term young adult family
> > members has also been a question mark as to roles and responsibilities.
> > Generally we leave it up to the family but than it differs from family to
> > family.
> >
> > Mary V-K
> > Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:36 AM, Margaret Porter <
> > margaret.porter [at] mindspring.com> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Cohousers--What has your community's experience been with short-term
> >> rentals? Do you allow them or not? If you allow them, how do you define
> >> "short-term?" If you allow short-term rentals, what has been the
> impact, if
> >> any, on your community's development and cohesiveness?  Any thoughts or
> >> comments would be greatly appreciated.
> >>
> >> Margaret Porter
> >> Silver Sage Village
> >> Boulder, Colorado
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