Property company sues city of Shawnee over ‘co-living’ ban that restricts roommates
A Johnson County homeowner and a property management company are suing the city of Shawnee over its controversial co-living ban, which limits how many unrelated people can live together.
The lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday looks to overturn the city ordinance approved last year, arguing it violates residents’ rights in a “discriminatory and arbitrary manner that bears no relation to any legitimate government interest.”
“As Americans, who we choose to live with is none of the government’s business,” David Deerson, attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a news release. “There is a serious housing affordability crisis and Shawnee is making it worse. This unconstitutional ordinance would even outlaw the living arrangement of television’s ‘Golden Girls.’”
The ordinance prohibits more than three unrelated people from living together in a single residence. The city only allows more people to live together if they are blood relatives or related by marriage, adoption or guardianship. The ordinance says if one resident is not related to anyone in their household, then the entire household is considered unrelated.
City spokesman Doug Donahoo said in an email to The Star, “The City is not aware nor has been served of pending litigation regarding this issue.”
City officials last year argued that the ordinance aimed to crack down on arrangements where co-living has turned into a commercial enterprise, with homeowners collecting rent as if their single-family homes were apartments. But the idea was met with widespread criticism, as communal living has gained popularity in recent years as rent and home prices have soared.
Many say Johnson County has become increasingly unaffordable for many working adults and seniors aging in place, and there are too few living options other than luxury apartments and pricey single-family homes.
HomeRoom Inc., the company suing the city, says it aims to provide a solution to the lack of affordable housing, connecting property owners with people seeking roommates. According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, the property management company opened two homes in Shawnee. Shortly after, the city adopted the co-living ban.
The lawsuit claims, “The major impetus behind the adoption of the Ordinance was a desire to regulate away the operation of Plaintiff HomeRoom and similar property management companies.”
Before the ordinance was passed, HomeRoom sublet homes to unrelated roommates. But after it became law, the company was “forced to evict tenants which had been renting the property. Many of these former residents are unable to afford rent in the City without roommates and have since relocated to nearby jurisdictions,” the suit says.
Because of the ban, HomeRoom now only subleases homes to blood-related families.
Homeowner Val French also joined in suing the city, arguing that the ordinance rendered her living situation unlawful. Last year, French shared her home with her husband, two adult sons and a son’s girlfriend. Because the girlfriend is not related to the rest of the household, the lawsuit says, the living arrangement was no longer allowed under city law.
After the ordinance was approved, the son and girlfriend moved out, the lawsuit says.
The attorneys argue the ordinance violates residents’ constitutional rights, and the city’s classification of who can be allowed as a “co-living group” is discriminatory and arbitrary.
