Housing as a Missing Middle Solution for Rural Communities:

There is mounting pressure on municipalities to reform their zoning ordinances to eliminate “exclusive” single-family zoning. Advocates call for the inclusion of more multi-family housing within what have been exclusively single (white nuclear) family spaces. In particular, there is a need for “missing middle housing” which is a range of smaller multi-unit or duplex housing that is similar in scale to single-family homes.2 28% of single-family homes are occupied by one person. Recent census data shows migration trends away from urban areas and towards rural communities with growth in rural racial diversity. Deteriorating housing stock, high development costs, and lack of affordable options continue to hamper affordable housing access in rural communities.

What should affordable “multi-household” housing look like in rural communities? This article proposes that the government can infill rural single-family housing stock through local regulation modernization, government-sponsored and private-sector programs, and policy incentives to promote shared housing. This article will identify and examine the legal impediments to implementing shared housing programs which include:

(1) failure to meet building code and density requirements; (2) antiquated definitions of family and cohabitation under zoning laws with a resultant lack of constitutional protections for unrelated people desiring to live together, (3) restrictive occupancy codes; (4) property tax assessment implications for conversion to shared use; (5) income tax and benefits eligibility intersectional challenges; (6) lack of traditional landlord-tenant protections for informal shared housing arrangements; and (7) fair housing implications for shared housing.

The challenge of funding and financing shared housing under current conventional and government financing structures are mentioned in Part V. Despite these legal impediments and financing challenges, shared housing presents a worthwhile endeavor as the benefits of shared housing include fostering social and intergenerational exchange and the potential for enhanced health outcomes such as aging in place and decreased social isolation. Lastly, this article will propose some regulatory and policy reforms to help alleviate barriers to the implementation of shared housing.

Homeownership has long been valued as the symbol of the American Dream. In addition to serving as the largest generational wealth creation opportunity for most Americans, it also celebrated individual autonomy, privacy, choice, and freedom of association. The celebration and adulation of a vision of homeownership for all is a fairly modern construction that was aided by public policies such as zoning regulations and the subsidizing of single-family home development through federal housing finance programs. Significant portions of the population have faced barriers to homeownership as a result of systemic racism.

This article intends to highlight how our societal attachment to the myth of the single-family home has closed policymakers’ eyes to shared housing arrangements that serve a larger population that does not conform to a traditional nuclear family household. This attachment has created institutional and cultural barriers to home sharing in the United States. In light of the lack of available affordable rental units, promoting shared housing as one affordable housing option, particularly in rural communities where stock and development options are limited, is one way to house folks without a significant expenditure of resources. Under arcane zoning and land use regulations, home sharing among unrelated household members is often a prohibited use.

Home-sharing reimagines unused space. This article aims to examine whether it could be a solution to meet the housing needs of an aging and diversifying rural population and provide an affordable rental option to many. The current single-family housing stock is being underutilized. Changes to state and local laws and state and federal policies could assist with promoting home sharing as one option for meeting modern demands in the housing market. Shared housing could serve as a useful solution for creating “multiple household” housing in single-family housing rich rural communities.