Sign outside of the Portage County Courthouse and Stevens Point's City Hall. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — The Stevens Pont Plan Commission heard a lengthy discussion on Monday regarding a proposed change to its zoning code that would allow for up to three unrelated or unmarried people to occupy a single-family home, provided that one of the occupants is the owner of the dwelling.
Alder Mary Kneebone, who serves on the commission, says she likes the idea of homeowners being able to guarantee income by renting one of their vacant bedrooms. “[It would] really help me to pay my property taxes if I could rent out my two [spare] bedrooms. There would be three, unrelated adults living in there. It could provide people with the opportunity to stay in their homes longer,” said Kneebone.
But not everyone was on board. One resident who spoke up cautioned that the move could encourage landlords to swoop in and purchase homes to add to their rental portfolios, squeezing potential first-time homebuyers out of the market with high cash offers. Others cautioned about what eventually allowing more unrelated individuals to live together could do to the price of rent in the city.
“If a third person moves in the logic is they are going to split the rent. The landlord could say ‘wait a minute, they were paying $450 each when rent was $900, but now I’m going to charge them $400 each. Now I’m getting $1,200, but they get a deal too,'” said former city development director John Gardner. “I’ve got more people in there, I’ll cut the rent a little bit but net- I’m going to make more.”
No action was taken as a result of Monday’s discussion. The discussion is expected to continue in the months to come.
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