KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Shawnee City Council voted unanimously Monday night to effectively ban co-living groups, or homes where rooms are rented out to different adults.
The new wording in the city code bans four or more unrelated adults living together.
Co-living has emerged to make housing more affordable, as rental prices rise across the country.
At the same meeting, the results of a housing affordability study regarding Shawnee was presented.
"What happens in Shawnee is really consequential for the county," Kristy Baughman, director of education and planning for United Community Services of Johnson County, an organization that provides data analysis to help with planning and city framework, said.
Her presentation showed that from 2017-2021, home sale prices in Johnson County rose 37% while wages for "foundational" jobs only rose 12% at most.
The presentation also showed that 48% of renters in Shawnee were burdened by their cost of housing, which means they spent 30% or more of their income on housing.
The mayor will formally sign the changes after attorneys finish writing the formal code, a spokesperson for the city said.
