Home-sharing services lacking in KC

The big picture: Across the country, older adults are turning spare bedrooms into lifelines, for themselves and for renters priced out of the market, the New York Times reports — think: real life "Golden Girls."

• Around 55 home-share groups now play roommate matchmaker nationwide, vetting applicants and brokering the delicate stuff: pets, parking, chores and thermostat preferences.
• Several states are weighing "Golden Girls" bills to loosen rules on unrelated adults living together.

Zoom in: While many cities and states have nonprofits and services for homesharing, the KC metro is lacking.

• The National Shared Housing Resource Center has programs in locations across the country, but not in Kansas and Missouri.
• Johnson County says "there is no formal program to support home-sharing."

The intrigue: Shawnee's ban on more than three unrelated people living together would knock the Golden Girls' quadruple down to a trio.

• That ban was upheld in court earlier this year.

Context: These arrangements work for some because they lighten their maintenance load and keep them around people who can make sure they're all right.

• It's the idea of "rightsizing" while also gaining friends and, in some cases, swanky amenities.

The bottom line: With a growing share of older adults in the U.S. and steep housing prices, more are turning toward each other for a place called home.