As housing costs rise, older adults are increasingly turning to home-sharing arrangements, reminiscent of the beloved sitcom “Golden Girls,” to afford aging in place.
Shirley Jennett, a retired nurse, cherishes her spacious ranch-style home in Denver, complete with a large backyard and a gazebo. At 89, she is determined to remain in her beloved residence. “I want to stay here,” she asserts. “And die here.”
Despite her good health, Jennett’s children express concern about her living alone, particularly after she experienced a couple of falls. To address this, she welcomed a new housemate, Susan Beese, into her home.
Beese, 79, found herself unable to afford her one-bedroom apartment after rent soared above $1,500 per month. After briefly staying with friends and then in what she referred to as “a senior women’s facility,” she moved in with Jennett. Now, Beese pays $800 a month for a bright two-bedroom space on the lower level of Jennett’s house. In return, she assists with gardening, takes out the trash, and occasionally prepares meals.
<p“It’s been a lifesaver,” Beese remarked, noting that Jennett even welcomed her dog into the home.
This arrangement mirrors the premise of the classic 1980s sitcom “Golden Girls,” where four witty women share a house in Miami after meeting through an ad on a supermarket bulletin board. In Denver, the housing matchmaker is Sunshine Home Share Colorado, a nonprofit organization founded by Alison Joucovsky in 2016 to address the urgent need for affordable housing options for seniors.
<p“My phone was ringing off the hook,” Joucovsky recalled, reflecting on the anxious calls from older residents struggling to pay rising rents or facing long waiting lists for subsidized housing. “Home sharing is a really efficient way to create affordable housing and to support older people who want to age in place,” she added.
Sunshine Home Share Colorado carefully vets both “home providers,” who may find themselves in large, empty family homes, and “home sharers,” who seek affordable rent. In 2022, the organization facilitated a record 31 home shares.
Laura Fanucchi, president of the National Shared Housing Resource Center and an administrator with HIP Housing in California, emphasized the need for innovative solutions. “The cost of developing and building new housing is astronomical, and so is the length of time it takes,” she said. “Why not make use of existing housing stock?”
Across the United States, approximately 55 organizations offer home-sharing services, and demand is on the rise due to housing shortages and escalating rents. Several states are working to promote home sharing as a viable option, although personal care is typically not included in these arrangements.
The need for affordable housing is pressing. An analysis by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies revealed that about a third of households led by individuals aged 65 or older were “cost-burdened” in 2024, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing. While nearly 80% of these individuals were homeowners, many still faced financial strain from mortgages, home equity loans, and rising costs associated with property taxes, utilities, and maintenance.
“A lot of the people calling me to complain about property taxes and inflation are senior citizens on fixed incomes whose children have left, and maybe their spouse has died,” said Pennsylvania state Rep. Abby Major, a Republican co-sponsor of a bill aimed at facilitating home sharing. “They’re a single older adult living in a four-bedroom house.”
Despite these challenges, many older adults prefer not to relocate. For those considering downsizing, the rising home prices and the end of low-interest rates have made this option increasingly unaffordable.
Younger generations are also feeling the financial strain, with 37% of individuals aged 25 to 34 and 31% of those aged 35 to 44 classified as cost-burdened, according to the Joint Center. Home sharing presents a potential solution for both older homeowners seeking additional income and younger individuals in search of affordable housing.
To enhance their outreach, some home-share programs are transitioning from traditional matching methods to online platforms. For-profit companies like Nesterly and roommates.com are also facilitating shared housing arrangements.
<p“It’s like online dating, except that people who have rooms can meet people who need rooms,” explained Candice Smith, executive director of HomeShare Oregon. “And it’s a lot more secure.” HomeShare’s online platform has attracted nearly 7,000 providers and seekers over the past five years.
This year, the city of Portland launched a pilot program offering $1,000 to homeowners who make a spare room available through qualified home-share programs, with $1,500 for two rooms. Additionally, several states have introduced or passed legislation to prevent municipalities from imposing undue restrictions on homeowners wishing to rent spare rooms to non-family members. In Pennsylvania and Connecticut, these initiatives have been dubbed “Golden Girls bills” and have garnered bipartisan support.
<p“So many young people have basically given up on buying a home,” said Colorado state Rep. Manny Rutinel, who helped pass a 2024 law prohibiting cities and counties from limiting the number of unrelated individuals living together in a single dwelling.
In Pennsylvania, state Rep. Tarik Khan successfully guided a similar bill through the House in June, which is now awaiting a Senate vote. “It doesn’t make sense that your cousin can move in but someone unrelated to you can’t,” Khan stated.
The Pennsylvania bill proposes a cap of five non-family occupants in a home, while Connecticut’s limit would be three. Although Connecticut’s bill passed the Senate in April, it did not receive a vote in the House. However, sponsors plan to reintroduce it in the next session.
While home sharing cannot single-handedly resolve the housing crisis, advocates believe it could significantly alleviate the issue by unlocking thousands of spare bedrooms across the country without necessitating new construction that alters neighborhood dynamics.
Matching homeowners with potential renters is a delicate process. Home-share staff typically conduct interviews, run background checks, verify incomes, and facilitate initial meetings, providing mediation if issues arise later. They also help applicants navigate lifestyle preferences that could complicate compatibility.
Jenlyn and Larry Boyer, who have lived in their suburban Broomfield, Colorado, ranch house for 31 years, are among those benefiting from home sharing. At 80, Jenlyn has become unsteady and uses a walker, while her husband, 70, suffers from chronic fibromyalgia pain and requires a wheelchair.
Faced with rising costs and the need for assistance, the Boyers turned to Sunshine Home Share and connected with a 46-year-old graduate student whose rent had doubled to an unmanageable $2,000. The student now resides in their furnished downstairs bedroom, paying a reduced rent of $600 in exchange for approximately 10 hours of dishwashing each month.
The additional income has helped the Boyers manage expenses, such as van repairs and wheelchair batteries. More importantly, they enjoy the companionship of their new housemate. “She turns out to be just a gem,” Jenlyn said. “We laugh together a lot.”
As the demand for affordable housing continues to grow, home-sharing arrangements like those facilitated by Sunshine Home Share Colorado offer a promising solution for older adults seeking to age in place while also providing younger individuals with more affordable living options.
According to Source Name, these arrangements not only foster community but also address the pressing housing crisis affecting both older and younger generations.