Resources To Support Shared Living
In Boston's high-cost housing market, sharing living space with others — whether that means sharing a bedroom, a home, or a multifamily property — is one way to make life more affordable and make the most of our city’s limited housing stock while we work to increase supply.
People choose to live together for different reasons, whether it's to build community, share costs, and/or support one another. No matter the reason, shared living, for the purposes of this resource, means sharing space — and that always involves figuring out how to relate to one another, day by day, person to person.
The Shared Living Guidebook incorporates resident feedback and expert insight to highlight best practices for living well together. It is intended for anyone living in a shared housing context who wants to invest in living well together. This guide is not meant to prescribe or judge social structures, norms, practices, or values; we are building a city for everyone, where diversity makes us an empowered collective. This guide is also not intended to provide legal or financial advice.
Link to the Guidebook (web version)
Link to the Guidebook (print version)
-
12 CHANNEL STREET
9TH FLOOR
BOSTON, MA 02210
Additional Resources
Shared Living Agreement Template
A Shared Living Agreement is a co-created document intended to support individuals and groups living in shared housing arrangements. It outlines community values, everyday agreements, and collective systems to promote trust, ease, accountability, and care. It is not a legal contract, but rather a shared foundation, designed to evolve over time as people’s needs and dynamics change.
This document works best when completed collaboratively with all members of the household. It doesn’t need to be finished all at once. Start with what's most urgent, relevant, or easy to talk about.
Need some help?
The Housing Innovation Lab is partnering with the Community Dispute Settlement Center to help housemates create a Shared Living and/or Co-Ownership Agreement.
To schedule a session, please contact cdschousing@communitydispute.org
Shared Living Budget Planning Tool
This tool helps your household plan, track, and manage shared expenses clearly and collaboratively. It’s designed to support transparency, fairness, and ease in navigating the financial side of living together.
Use this as a living document to support clear communication and fair cost-sharing.
Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program
The Boston Home Center, in partnership with the Housing Innovation Lab, is piloting a new loan program to support households coming together to purchase multifamily homes in Boston. The pilot program provides zero-percent interest deferred loans (payable upon sale, transfer, or refinance) to help cover the costs of the down payment and reasonable closing costs for the purchase of multifamily properties.
10 Questions to Ask Before Living with Someone
Are we talking "hospital sterile," "lived-in cozy," or "archaeological dig site?" Your future compatibility may depend on this answer.
Understanding each other's conflict resolution styles can help you address problems as they arise, preventing small disagreements from snowballing into lasting tensions or resentment.
This might include quiet hours, guest policies, or temperature settings. Knowing deal-breakers up front helps avoid surprise incompatibilities down the line.
Are you looking for a semester-long arrangement, a year, or potentially many years? Misaligned timelines can create unexpected stress.
Would you prefer to split everything equally, proportionally based on income, or create separate areas of financial responsibility?
Some people want built-in socializing while others need significant alone time - knowing where people fall on the spectrum helps set expectations.
Is your cooking a fire hazard? Can you fix anything with duct tape? Do you have a strange vendetta against vacuuming?
Are you comfortable sharing food, personal care items, vehicles, or other belongings? What boundaries would you want to establish?
Do you envision a quiet sanctuary, a social hub for friends, a productive workspace, or something else entirely?
Would you prefer scheduled chore rotations, spontaneous task sharing, or splitting areas of responsibility by preference and skill?
There are no universally "right" answers to these questions - the goal is finding a person, or people whose Living style is compatible with yours, or at least someone with whom you can find workable compromises with.
Who's Involved:
-
12 CHANNEL STREET
9TH FLOOR
BOSTON, MA 02210
