Mahmood proposes ending 5-person limit for co-living spaces

The Facts

Supervisor Bilal Mahmood will introduce legislation tomorrow, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, to eliminate an outdated rule preventing more than five unrelated people from sharing a home.

Mahmood's bill would replace references to "family" in the planning code with "household," defined as a group of people with a maximum of nine lease agreements sharing living expenses. The change would focus on lease agreements rather than individuals, potentially allowing larger co-living arrangements in existing housing stock.

“This is about fairness – this legislation recognizes that today’s families and chosen families come in many forms,” said Supervisor Mahmood. “If it’s good enough for our inclusive values, it should be good enough for our zoning code.”

The Context

The current planning code defines a family as "not more than five persons unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption," which causes issues for people who need very low cost housing shared with many people

While the Planning Department has only taken 14 enforcement actions over the five-person rule between January 2020 and April 2025, it can cause people living in these situations to avoid requesting repairs from a landlord for fear of eviction. Additionally, architects and builders say they avoid building co-ops or shared housing because they worry about breaking city rules. So fewer types of housing get built as a result.

The legislation comes as young people continue to leave San Francisco after a dramatic pandemic-era exodus, while co-living spaces report overwhelming demand—one Russian Hill building received 400 applications for available spots last year.

The bill sets the maximum at nine lease agreements to avoid triggering inclusionary housing fees required for buildings with 10 or more units.

The GrowSF Take

This reform removes an arbitrary barrier that keeps housing off the market and prevents young people from renting homes.

Co-living provides affordable community-oriented housing that San Francisco desperately needs. Mahmood's practical approach focuses on lease agreements rather than bedroom counts, giving property owners flexibility while maintaining oversight. The Supervisors should pass this to help make it easier for young people and people with low incomes to afford living in San Francisco.