Could we see bylaw changes in Vancouver to accommodate co-living?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It could be a way for you to do away with the lengthy commute in from the suburbs and actually afford to live in Vancouver, comfortably.

Large groups of adults are co-living — splitting rent on a home — in some cases, in mansions.

There are bylaws limiting the number of unrelated adults that can live together, but the City of Vancouver is looking at possibly changing that. Right now, that number stands at five and Councillor Geoff Meggs admits there are good reasons for having a limit.

But he says he isn’t aware of any complaints about groups larger than that living together.

“It’s a logical way for people to regulate their housing costs and share… overhead. It happens all the time, I think. But whether or not we should really set a higher limit is something that staff have warned me could raise more questions than answers, so we’re trying to check that out before we get started.”

He’s been trying to figure out how much work it would take to change the number.

“I’ve discussed it with our housing manager and with our director of planning, and received a fair amount of feedback from them about some of the issues that would arise, and I was surprised at the scope of them,” says Meggs.

He’s been approached by people wanting to see the number changed “and I’m very interested in it, but I’m not certain we’re gonna go ahead right now. We need to find out a little bit more about how much work is involved.”

Meggs was asked whether this could be the “next big thing” in terms of affordable living in Vancouver. He thinks it’ll be a strategy for some people but doesn’t think the affordability issue is going to be an area where there’s a silver bullet.

“People have to get together, find a way to arrange a rental with a landlord, work out their own community relationships and all that kind of thing. And many people are able to do that, but it’s not the answer for everybody.”

“The real solutions, I think, are going to come from a push to get senior levels of government to work on rental housing, and that’s something we’re trying to support at the City as much as we can. Rental will be a big help if we can see a big expansion in that area,” adds Meggs.

One group has recently shared their story; they live in a mansion by the Fraser River, valued at more than $5 million.

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