SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City rule that limits how many unrelated people can live together in one home could be one step closer to changing.
The Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday night to recommend changing the city’s definition of “family” in its zoning code. The proposal now heads to the Salt Lake City Council for a final decision.
Under the current city code, no more than three unrelated people can generally live together in one home. The proposed change would base occupancy on the number of bedrooms instead of whether people are related.
The proposal would allow two people per bedroom, plus one additional person in the home.
For some renters, the change could make it easier to legally split housing costs. “The place I’m at is a four-bedroom, and it’s like $2,700,” said Lars, a Salt Lake City renter. “It’s kind of bonkers how much it is.”
Lars said the current rule does not always match the reality of trying to afford rent.
“It’s kind of difficult to make three people work in a four-bedroom,” he said.
Rose, another Salt Lake City renter, said she knows people who already work around the current limit. “We have a lot of friends who have three people who are officially on the lease, but then they’ll have someone else helping pay,” Rose said.
City staff said the change would not alter zoning or turn single-family homes into multifamily housing. Staff said the proposal would still include an occupancy limit.
The proposal also drew pushback from some residents and community groups.
During public comment, one speaker raised concerns about how the change could affect family neighborhoods. “We fear our neighborhood will be significantly changed,” the speaker said.
Written comments submitted by the East Liberty Park Community Organization said the group supports making it easier for students, young professionals, and workers to rent together. But the group also raised concerns about more cars, more noise, enforcement challenges, and homes becoming what it called “de facto boarding houses.”
Planning commissioners made amendments before voting to recommend the change. Those amendments included excluding children of a resident from the occupancy calculation and setting limits for efficiency units.
The proposal still requires approval from the Salt Lake City Council before it can become law.
Renters who spoke with FOX 13 News said the proposed change could help, but it would not solve the larger issue of housing costs.
“It would help if they reduced rent,” Rose said. “That would be the biggest thing.”
