Single-Room Occupancy (SRO)

What Is Single-Room Occupancy?

Single-room occupancy (SRO) housing consists of small rooms rented to one person each. HUD’s regulations define an SRO unit as a unit for one person that may, but need not, contain food preparation or sanitary facilities. In practice, many SRO residents have a private room and share kitchens and bathrooms with neighbors.

SROs go by many names, including rooming houses, boarding houses, residential hotels, and single-room residences. They have historically housed low-wage single workers, retirees on fixed incomes, and others who could not afford a full apartment. Because rents are low, SROs have also served as a last stop before homelessness.

How SRO Housing Works

Rent covers one room, sometimes with utilities included. Because rooms are small and kitchens and bathrooms are often shared, an SRO room typically costs less to provide, and rents for less, than a standard apartment.

Some SROs receive public support. HUD’s Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO program, authorized by the McKinney-Vento Act of 1987, paid rental assistance tied to renovated SRO units for homeless individuals. The 2009 HEARTH Act consolidated it with two other programs into the Continuum of Care program. HUD reports that no new SRO projects will be funded, but existing SRO contracts continue to be renewed. Some nonprofit permanent supportive housing buildings also use an SRO or studio layout.

The Decline and Return of SROs

SRO housing shrank dramatically in the second half of the 20th century. As reported by Governing, SRO hotels made up about 10% of New York City’s housing stock in the 1950s. The city banned new SRO construction in 1955, and zoning codes elsewhere were rewritten to discourage single-room housing. By one estimate the magazine cites, 1 million SRO units were lost between the 1970s and the 1990s. Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania homelessness researcher, told Governing that many people attribute the growth of street homelessness in the 1980s to the loss of SRO housing.

Interest has revived as cities look for low-cost options. Governing reported in 2022 that Minneapolis had included measures to encourage SROs in its zoning reforms, that a Philadelphia council member had introduced a bill to legalize single-room residences in multifamily and commercial districts, and that San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, had worked to protect their remaining units.

Criticisms and Limitations

Older SROs have a mixed reputation. Some were poorly maintained, and shared facilities raise concerns about privacy, sanitation, and safety. Newly built small units, sometimes marketed as micro-units or co-living, are also not automatically affordable. Unless their rents are restricted, they may be priced well above what traditional SROs charged. Supporters respond that modern building codes and good management can address quality problems, and that a legal, decent room is preferable to a shelter bed or the street.