Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Number of "users" in Senior Cohousing

[Linda Hobbet (coho]

You need to check out the laws in your state which may add additional 
restrictions. It can be confusing and hard to find the most current 
version. The 80/20 Federal rule says 20% of the units are not required 
to have a person 55 or older living in them. Children are not excluded 
by Federal law, but communities can add minimum restrictions and most of 
the 55+ developments are large and do have such rules. They can even 
limit visitors.

I suggest you talk to a real estate broker or lawyer. To be a legal 55+ 
community you have to be registered with HUD and submit paperwork yearly 
to support that status. If you fall below 80% in any year, you will lose 
the 55+ status permanently. That means you will not be able to market to 
55+ or exclude anyone on the basis of age.

You might want to discuss whether you really want to have formal 55+ 
status. Based on the size of the homes you are planning and your idea of 
how you want to use the 80/20 rule, it seems you might be hoping for 
some younger members. I know communities can find it difficult to 
recruit young families. I know of at least one "multi-generation" 
community that is functionally 55+, in spite of attempts to attract 
younger members. I suspect that is not unusual. You could decide not to 
develop facilities for children, which would also tend to limit young 
families.

Linda Hobbet

On 12/1/2025 1:59 PM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L wrote:
> And I second the caution that the ability to include people younger than your 
> cut-off is quite probably related to other requirements that will mean that 
> only households with at least one member over 55 or 60 will be living in the 
> unit. Other requirements will preclude children under a certain age from living 
> there more than a month or two at a time.

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