Today we discussed how communities handle short term renters, room rentals, home exchanges, etc. Hopefully others on the call can add to their notes. I was asked to post my community’s new draft policy
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Thank you so much Lauren!
Yes, I’d very much like to see the other policies that were mentioned 
Here are the notes I took (plus all my notes of 2025-2026!!) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n30AgCnZTP8n0yEmHHnj9TEsV3phkLjcDSZrLawFIAk/edit?usp=sharing (Access is restricted to Advocates participants)
I have organized all the responses into those dimensions, for an eventual policy. There are so many dimensions!!
Dimensions of an eventual policy:
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Type of visitor:
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Owner absent or not
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Money exchanged or not (we probably stay with no money exchanged)
- Rent: just a room, or the whole unit?
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Duration of the visit
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Relationship to the owner: child, parent, other family, friend, unknown (woofer, home exchange, pet sitter)
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Goal of the visit: experiencing community or not?
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Impact on insurances (too many people from outside, more risks)
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Type of absences:
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Max number/% of owners absent at the same time
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Max duration allowed for absence
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Impact on banks (not giving mortgage if to much absence)
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Allowing the visit or not
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Who decides? Owner? A circle? All members?
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What are the criterias to allow or forbid a visit?
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Membership process?
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Background check?
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Responsibilities of the visitor:
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Participation agreement
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Conflict resolution agreement
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Decision-making rights
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Who’s responsible if agreements are not respected by the visitor? What happens?
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Rights of the visitor:
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Using laundry machines?
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Participating in common meals?
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Being on the common land?
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Access to internal communication systems and documents?
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How to introduce the visitor to the community
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Owner informs the community
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how? (chat channel, in person or written?)
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What information to include?
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How long before the arrival?)
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Event to meet the visitor?
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