Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: [ADV] Records Checks for Cohousing Group Members

[fergyb2 (fergyb2]

      No other cohousing group I’ve ever heard of has such a requirement.  The 
nature of cohousing is such that it is very difficult to keep secrets within 
the community.  People who need to keep their activities secret are not likely 
to be attracted to cohousing.  That being said I see no group  liability for 
individual criminal behavior, although I am not a lawyer.  You could always ask 
a lawyer about the liability issues in Canada.  Cohousing is a neighborhood and 
neighbors are not usually held liable for the criminal activities of their 
neighbors as far as I’ve ever heard.  I would be concerned that the insisting 
group member may have trust and control  issues which would make for 
difficulties for the group decision making  process down the road.  No one 
always gets their way in cohousing.  Some people can’t stand not having 
absolute control and they don’t make good cohousers and usually end up leaving 
after creating a lot of upset.
   Bonnie Fergusson
Swans Market Cohousing ( where we just celebrated our 20th anniversary of move 
in)
Oakland, CA

Sent from my iPad

> On May 25, 2020, at 9:45 AM, frances woolison <franceswoolison [at] 
> hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I am a member of a forming Canadian cohousing group. We are currently 
> establishing the Bylaws and Policies for our Corporation. One group member is 
> adamant that those joining the community as members now, and others 
> purchasing units in the community in the future, be required to undergo a 
> Criminal Records check and a Vulnerable Persons Abuse Registry check before 
> being accepted into the community or being allowed to purchase a home. Katie 
> McCamant is our consultant, and she says that she has never heard of a 
> cohousing group having those requirements. We would be interested in knowing 
> if any other communities have mandated such criteria. If other groups do not 
> have such requirements, how are children and vulnerable persons in the 
> community protected from abuse, and what would the liability of the group be 
> in case of such abuse taking place? Thank you for any input you can offer.
> 
> Frances Woolison
> Prairie Rivers Cohousing
> Winnipeg, Manitoba
> Canada
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