But when an innovative new roommate living startup tried to meet this need in one Kansas city, the city council responded with an outright ban on co-living among four or more unrelated people. College degree in hand and a new career in Silicon Valley, Johnny Wolff soon realized his only affordable housing option in the San Francisco Bay area would require roommates.
It was , and finding reliable, compatible people to share living space with was a challenge, at best, especially for young adults attending school or working in new, unfamiliar places. Johnny spent the next ten years drawing on his own roommate experiences and his work in finance, tech, and real estate to devise a solution: a co-living concept for renters to share homes.
HomeRoom quickly grew from one home to homes in eight states, with more than 1, occupied rooms. Demand is stronger in areas where housing supply struggles to keep up with population and Kansas City is no exception.
So, when roommate seekers in Shawnee, Kansas, came to HomeRoom for help, Johnnyβwho lives in a co-living home himselfβwas ready. Investors bought two homes in Shawnee, which filled up with tenants as soon as HomeRoom made them available to rent.
The new citywide law prohibits cohabitation of more than three unrelated people in a shared residence. Forced to rent its Shawnee properties only to families, HomeRoom helped relocate unrelated residents to different cities.
