According to a recent Senior Housing News article, an increasing number of seniors are looking to share their homes, enabling them to "age in place" and avoid or delay entering long-term care facilities. Each co-housing agreement is different, but generally these contracts outline both financial and chore responsibilities for its habitants. There are currently 65 home sharing programs registered as National Shared Housing Resource Center members; these programs make approximately 3,000-5,000 co-housing matches per year.
Although a formal home sharing model was established in the 1970s, its popularity has experienced dramatic shifts over the years. According to California's Affordable Living for the Aging, renewed interest in home sharing is "motivated by the need to meet surging demand for affordable housing in a time of shrinking subsidies and economic distress."
For more information on other aging in place housing models, see OLR Reports 2012-R-0447 on ECHO Housing for Seniors and 2012-R-0081 on Modular Medical Homes for Seniors.
