Rent Shares

Updated: 9/9/26

As a house we are committed to supporting each other and to furthering equity as a community. We come to The Hive with differing financial resources and class privilege.The following is an attempt to address and redistribute our resources to recognize those differences, as well as a system that can better support us when we hit a financial low point.

Rent split

• Base rent: the rent owed is split in half and then evenly split among the housemates to form a base rent payment.

• Room adjustment: each person’s base rent is adjusted up or down based on the room they have. 

• Shares: the remaining half of the rent is split between the housemates based on the number of rent shares each chooses to take.

• Common room: if the housemates choose to keep one room open as a guest room or common room, the cost of that room is split evenly between all housemates.

Rent shares

• A rent share costs half the rent divided by the total number of shares.

• If starting the process from scratch, each hourmates begins with 10 shares. When a new housemate joins they receive the average number of shares. From there they may choose to increase or decrease their shares depending on their need and ability.

• If a housemate wishes to increase or decrease their share, they should add it as an item for our weekly agenda. At the meeting we will look at the rent shares calculator collectively and make adjustments.

  • After one housemate adjusts their share number, all other housemates are given an opportunity to adjust their shares as well.

• When a new housemate moves in, they are expected to pay the original rent for the first 3 months, after which they can join the rent share system. The house can decide to invite them to participate sooner.

• The rent split is calculated and stored in the Rent Shares Calculator.

Opt out

We would like everyone to participate in this system. The more people are involved the less burdensome any change becomes, and the better we can support each other. However, if a housemate feels that they are unable to participate in this system, they can choose to opt out and pay the original rent amount.