NYC Explores Single-Room Occupancy Legislation as Novel Strategy to Address Shortage Affecting Individuals and Couples
Reconsidering Single-Room Occupancies as Housing Solution
As New York City grapples with its worst housing shortage in over 50 years, policymakers are reviving a housing type eliminated in recent decades: single-room occupancies. New York City plans to introduce legislation allowing for single-room occupancies (SROs) or shared housing, according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. This represents a significant reversal from decades of policy that viewed SROs as obsolete relics of an earlier era.
The Historical Context: Why SROs Disappeared
In one academic paper in the CUNY Law Review, the authors wrote that “the City’s decimation of SRO housing has amplified the ongoing housing crisis, constricting the low-income housing market and contributing to the ballooning homelessness problem”. Current vacancy data reinforces this assessment: the rental vacancy rate fell to a multi-decade low of 1.4%, down dramatically from 4.5% during the pandemic in 2021 and 3.63% in pre-pandemic 2017.
The Demographic Case for SRO Housing
Unlike the 1960s-1970s when SROs housed transient populations, a century later, the number of single-person households in the population is growing rapidly, but severe housing shortage means there are not enough options to house these individuals. This demographic reality creates genuine demand for efficient housing units.
Current Housing Shortage Statistics
The numbers are stark. The vacancy rate of apartments renting below $1,650 was less than 1 percent, creating impossible conditions for renters seeking below-market-rate options. About half of all-affordable buildings studied were losing money, containing 112,000 apartments.
How SROs Could Address Supply Gaps
The proposed plan would be part of the City of Yes housing initiative, which aims to update New York City’s zoning codes to address the city’s critical housing shortage and encourage economic growth. Single-room occupancies offer smaller footprints and lower costs compared to traditional apartments, potentially offering economically viable construction in dense urban areas.
Broader Housing Production Context
SRO legalization is part of a broader push toward housing supply expansion. In the third quarter, developers filed proposals for 11,746 new residential units citywide, 162% higher than the average since 2008, while conversions of vacant office space could produce 17,000 more units. Combined with SRO legalization, New York by some estimates needs to build as many as 50,000 units a year, well above its recent pace, to make up for decades of underdevelopment. The SRO revival represents pragmatic recognition that housing scarcity demands policy flexibility and willingness to reconsider previously rejected solutions. Whether this approach can meaningfully address a crisis requiring tens of thousands of units annually remains an open question.
