Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pay for work

[Lauren Lake (laurenlake161]

Hi Dorothy,

At Green Grove, we have a policy that requires households to pay an hourly
rate for any unfulfilled workshare requirements. However, we have never
actually had to invoke it.

The policy was primarily established as a deterrent for potential buyers
who might not fully understand the expectations of living in a cohousing
community. The payment rate is based on local hourly costs for tasks we
could outsource, such as landscaping, common house cleaning, and handyman
services.

Our specific policy wording is: “If a resident is unable to meet their
workshare obligations, they will be required to pay for the unmet hours to
avoid overburdening others and to cover the cost of hiring outside help.”

In practice, we strive to avoid charging members who are unable to
participate by finding alternative tasks that are appropriate for their
specific abilities.

Best,

Lauren Lake
Green Grove Cohousing

On Tue, Jul 7, 2026 at 4:05 AM Dorothy Stroman via Cohousing-L <
cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> Gainesville Cohousing wants to consider creating a system whereby members
> who are unable to participate in workshare can pay fees to offset the
> expenses we incur to hire certain necessary work to be done, such as lawn
> mowing, landscape work, cleaning, etc.
> We would appreciate hearing from other communities who have tried such a
> system, voluntary or involuntary, and what worked, didn't work, or needed
> to be changed.
>
> Thank you,
> Dorothy Stroman
> Gainesville Cohousing
> Florida
> _________________________________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> http://L.cohousing.org/info
>
>
>
>