House approves Rep. Baginski’s bill that addresses number of unrelated people living in the same home

            STATE HOUSE – The House of Representatives today approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Jacquelyn Baginski that addresses local zoning ordinances relating to the number of unrelated individuals living in the same home.

            “As the housing crisis continues to get worse by the day, we have recently seen various municipalities attempt to limit the number of unrelated individuals within a single home.  While good intentioned and for various reasons, these local rules have in some cases left multiple empty bedrooms in homes, further exacerbating the need for more housing.  This legislation will bring a uniformity across the state while also ensuring that if there is an empty bedroom in a home, then someone who needs to live in it will be able to,” said Representative Baginski (D-Dist. 17, Cranston).

            The legislation (2024-H 7382A) would provide that the maximum number of unrelated persons living together that could be designated by a local zoning ordinance as constituting an individual household could not be fewer than one person per bedroom and would not exceed five unrelated persons per dwelling.

            The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration where Sen. Hanna M. Gallo (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick) has introduced the legislation (2024-S 2635).