Hi, I’m attorney Jay Cumberland. Coliving Counsel is my law practice serving clients in California.

I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. I received an Equal Justice Works Fellowship sponsored by the eBay Foundation. This allowed me to focus on housing co-op conversions during my first two years of practice. The Sustainable Economies Law Center hosted my fellowship, and I continue to practice communal housing law at the Law Center as well.

I have developed broad expertise in communal housing. I have advised housing clients at over sixty Resilient Communities Legal Cafes. These short term advice sessions have allowed me to understand the breadth of decisions facing communal housing clients .

I have gained deep expertise in a few areas of communal housing law. I have provided outside counsel services to the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative for over six years. It is the first cooperative of its type. Is unique financial model blends rental and ownership.

At Coliving Counsel, I represent communal housing clients. It’s all I do.

I’m an expert in the law of shared real estate ownership, also known as real estate co-ownership. I’m fluent in standard ownership options and complex variations. I understand the intricacies of the Subdivision Map Act and Subdivided Lands Act. These laws can make or break your project. Unique landlord-tenant, financing, and taxation issues arise in the shared ownership context. I know them well.

I’m also an expert in the law of communal kitchens, bathrooms, and living spaces. Zoning law makes non-family groups jump through hoops to live in most places.  I study the nuances of different municipal definitions. Definitions like dwelling unit, family, and single housekeeping unit vary. I’m up to date on California functional family zoning law. I'll help you understand that how you live influences where you can live. 

I serve two different types of clients in California. First, I serve groups creating DIY coliving arrangements. Second, I serve organizations creating communal housing arrangements.

Do-it-yourself coliving clients help themselves live together. They are building coliving communities for themselves and their friends. DIY coliving groups are friends living near each other. They are tenants buying their building. They are two families buying a home together or an unmarried couple buying a unit together. They are forming an intentional community, ecovillage, or commune. 

Organizational clients help others live together. They are community land trusts forming limited equity housing cooperatives. They are commercial coliving operators. They are farms or labor unions forming workforce housing cooperative trusts. They are housing organizations trying to choose between the variety of options available. They are government agencies seeking help understanding new territory.

I can help you speed up your choice of development method and your choice of rental and/or ownership arrangement. I’ll conduct an intake process to let me understand your needs, preferences, and constraints. I’ll then provide a memo explaining how the law relates to your facts. I’ll suggest two or three options I recommend that you pursue. This prevents decision fatigue, and it helps you move forward confidently.

I help you focus on what matters to finish an ownership agreement. An ownership agreement does not say what you have to do. It says what you’ll do if you can’t agree to do anything else. I help you focus on answering the questions that really matter. Then, I incorporate your non-negotiables into the 50+ page ownership agreement. 

I also create well-formatted, easy-to-read legal documents. My documents do not make your eyes glaze over. THEY DO NOT HAVE CHUNKS OF ALL CAPS TEXT. They contain no unnecessary legalese. They include white space and sometimes visuals. I revise all agreements to ensure they read at a 10th grade reading level. I focus on shaping the presentation of text and content to support your user experience. I draft for people living together, not other attorneys.

I generally charge a flat fee for my core Development Support, Arrangement Choice, and Agreement Drafting services.

A flat fee encourages me to get my work done for you promptly. It also encourages me to ensure you focus on what matters. The flat fee varies depending on the anticipated complexity of the memo or agreement. I will quote you a price after an intake session allows me to understand the scope of your needs.

For other work you propose, I may charge an hourly rate of $225 or propose a flat fee. Other work might include permitting communal kitchens. It might involve obtaining a zoning determination letter related to communal housing. It might involve negotiating an MOU with a community land trust.