Co-living houses in Oregon

[Patrick James]

Hey there, 

I'm looking for anyone who converted a house to a co-living setup in Oregon or even more specific, SW Portland in Washington County. Oregon lifted the ban on co-living/rent by the room in 2022, yet the county is completely unfamiliar with the concept. 

So, is there anyone on here with first hand experience in navigating the process?

Thanks in advance for your time.

[Andrew Lamb]

What is holding you back right now? I do sober living, which is basically co-living with some extra rules and a focus on a specific population. 

Legally, it's mostly like renting by the room so there are no extra hoops to jump through in 90% of the country. The other 10% is weird, outdated ordinances that violate the Fair Housing Act. 

Is it possible that you're overthinking it?

[Patrick James]

@Andrew Lamb, thanks for your response. Nothing is holding me back; we already own the house and are performing the conversion. I'm just dealing with the county, and I'm curious if anyone else in my area has gone through the permitting process and what their tactics were to get it through. 

They are trying to lump co-living in with a congregate living facility, which sober living would fall under. However, congregate living involves many enhancements to the dwelling other than just a typical residential house. This is mainly because they want to put it into the commercial category. So, maybe we fall into the weird bucket.