Why boardinghouses could make a comeback

What It Covers

Single room occupancy buildings (SROs), once housing over 10% of New York City renters in the 1950s, were systematically eliminated through urban renewal policies, directly contributing to modern homelessness, and are now being reconsidered as affordable housing solutions.

Key Questions Answered

• •Historical scale: U.S. cities once had massive SRO stock — New York alone held 200,000 units in the 1950s, representing over 10% of rental housing. The 1970s eliminated roughly one million rooms nationally through landlord incentives and tightening zoning regulations.
• •Homelessness link: Approximately half of men entering New York City homeless shelters in the 1980s had previously lived in SROs. Rebecca Baird-Remba's research estimates that 2.5 million additional rooms would exist today had SRO construction kept pace with broader U.S. housing growth.
• •Policy levers: Washington State and Oregon have enacted the strongest zoning reforms to legalize new SRO construction. New York City's mayor released a May housing plan promising shared housing legislation, though prior local efforts have been described as piecemeal and largely ineffective.
• •Design tradeoffs: SROs work well as transitional housing for younger residents getting financially established, but shared bathrooms, limited space, and density create real challenges for aging residents needing medical equipment, home health aides, or protection from communicable diseases like influenza and COVID-19.