Oregon
last
year
rewrote
the
rules
for
one
of
the
oldest
and
cheapest
housing
types,
single-room
occupancy
lodgings.

As
part
of
broader
housing
reform,
lawmakers
–
with
little
fanfare
–
passed
a
law
that
gave
single-room
occupancy
housing
legal
status
after
years
of
SROs
being
deemed
zoning
and
permitting
no-nos
due
to
concerns
about
the
safety
and
health
of
such
lodgings.

The
new
measure
requires
cities
to
allow
SRO
units
in
many
residential
areas.

In
Portland,
the
state’s
largest
city,
the
first
step
is
a
yearlong
SRO
pilot
program.
To
tackle
an
affordability
crisis
in
Oregon’s
largest
city,
the
Portland
Housing
Bureau
launched
a
program
that
offers
cash
incentives
to
homeowners
who
rent
spare
rooms
to
low-income
tenants.

Nationally,
intensifying
housing
affordability
concerns
have
prompted
efforts
to
revive
SRO
housing.
Cities
zoned
the
housing
type
–
a
historically
important
form
of
semi-permanent
housing
–
out
of
existence
over
the
past
75
years.

Oregon
became
one
of
the
few
states
to
pass
statewide
legislation
on
SROs,
joining
Washington
and
Hawaii.

In
Congress,
Republicans
and
Democrats
have
sought
to
address
housing
affordability.
Allowing
single-room
occupancy
in
areas
zoned
for
multifamily
is
among
the
land-use
policies
listed
in
the
Housing
for
the
21st
Century
Act
that
would
qualify
for
federal
incentives.
The
House

passed
the
bill
in
early
February,
and
the
Senate
is
now
considering
it.

“The
math
showing
the
surplus
of
existing,
unused
housing
in
the
US
is
straightforward
and
obvious,”
Atticus
LeBlanc,
shared-housing
platform

PadSplit‘s
founder
and
CEO,
wrote
on
LinkedIn.
“Less
than
1%
of
existing
housing
square
footage
can
yield
over
7,000,000
new
housing
units
for
American
workers,
students,
and
retirees.”

Portland
partnered
with
Atlanta-based
PadSplit
and
Ecumenical
Ministries
of
Oregon
to
assist
property
owners
in
the
city’s
program.

How
Portland’s
SRO
program
will
work

Portland’s
program
will
provide
a
one-time
grant
of
$1,000
for
the
first
rented
room
and
$500
for
each
additional
room
after
30
days
of
successful
leasing
through
the
home-sharing
providers.
Participating
rooms
must
be
offered
for
at
least
12
months,
and
tenants
cannot
be
members
of
the
owner’s
family
or
household.
Weekly
rent
is
capped
at
$200,
including
utilities
and
fees,
to
keep
rooms
affordable.

The
home-sharing
provider
will
match
renters
with
homeowners
and
may
help
with
applications
and
ongoing
tenancy
support.

“For
many
Portlanders,
home
sharing
is
a
win-win
solution,
helping
homeowners
to
supplement
their
incomes
while
providing
low-income
tenants
with
affordable
housing
options,”
Mayor
Keith
Wilson
said
in
a
statement.

Additionally,
the
city
will
fund
capacity-building
grants
for
community
organizations
that
support
participants.
Landlord-tenant
law
classes
for
interested
homeowners
begin
in
March
through
Real
Estate
and
Property
Management
Education.

“It’s
encouraging
to
see
city
leaders
acknowledge
that
co-living,
home
sharing,
and
room
rentals
can
play
an
important
role
in
addressing
the
housing
crisis,”
Sam
Hooper,
legislative
counsel
for
nonprofit
public
interest
law
firm

Institute
for
Justice,
told

The
Builder’s
Daily.
“While
pilot
programs
like
this
may
help
demonstrate
proof
of
concept,
government
subsidies
aren’t
a
long-term
solution
to
what
is
ultimately
a
supply
shortage
driven
by
exclusionary
zoning
and
overregulation.”

The
Institute
has
been
traveling
the
country
to

convince
state
lawmakers
to
introduce
laws
legalizing
SROs.
Its
pitch
includes
a
legislative
template
dubbed
the
Restoring
Options
in
Occupancy
Models
Act.

Oregon’s
SRO
law

Under
the
change,
Oregon’s
SRO
law
defines
a
single-room
occupancy
development
as
at
least
four
rented,
lockable
rooms
that
provide
living
and
sleeping
space
but
share
kitchens
or
bathrooms.
Cities
inside
urban
growth
boundaries
must
now
permit
up
to
six
SRO
units
on
any
lot
where
a
detached
single-unit
home
is
allowed.
Cities
must
also
allow
higher-density
SROs
in
multifamily
zones
consistent
with
existing
density
standards.

The
law
also
limits
how
local
governments
can
regulate
SROs.
This
means
measures
such
as
capping
localities’
parking
and
infrastructure
requirements,
which
can
hamstring
small
residential
projects
financially.

Local
planners
are
revising
codes
and
design
standards.
Developers
are
testing
whether
the
newly
allowed
buildings
can
pencil
out.

State
housing
officials
describe
the
SRO
shift
as
part
of
a
broader
push
to
expand
access
to
“middle”
and
lower-cost
housing.
That
means
housing
types
ranging
from
duplexes
to
cottage
clusters
and
co-living
projects.

SRO
law
harmonizes
with
the
missing
middle

Lawmakers
concurrently
passed
a
broad
policy
overhaul
to
support
more
middle-housing.
This
initiative
makes
it
easier
to
build
small,
lower-cost
homes
in
the
same
zones
where
SROs
are
now
allowed.
The
measure
expands
and
streamlines
Oregon’s
middle-housing
requirements
and
extends
them
to
more
cities.

The
law
directs
state
agencies
to
define
what
counts
as
“unreasonable
cost
or
delay”
for
projects.
Further,
the
measure
orders
new
rules
to
curb
local
siting
and
design
standards
that
have,
to
date,
derailed
or
downsized
middle
housing.
Those
rules
now
permit
manufactured
and
prefabricated
units,
accessory
dwellings
and
SROs,
particularly
inside
urban
growth
boundaries.

The
sweeping
measure
also
allows
density
bonuses
and
relaxed
dimensional
standards
when
projects
include
affordable
or
accessible
units.
The
changes
are
expected
to
improve
the
economics
of
SRO-style
and
co-living
developments
on
small
lots.

Could
an
SRO
pilot
help
with
housing
affordability?

Even
as
vacancies
tick
up
slightly
and
rent
growth
cools,
many
renters
still
face
cost
burdens
well
above
30%
of
income,
according
to
affordable
housing
advocates.
Housing
production
has
lagged
far
behind
demand,
leaving
many
residents
with
scant
options.

The
new
room-rental
pilot
tries
to
unlock
underused
bedrooms
in
existing
homes
and
transform
them
into
lower-cost
rentals.
By
offering
modest
grants
and
guaranteed
tenant-matching,
the
city
hopes
to
nudge
skeptical
or
risk-averse
homeowners
to
participate.
If
enough
owners
sign
up,
the
model
could
add
hundreds
of
units
faster
than
ground-up
construction,
which
typically
takes
years.

Even
in
a
best-case
scenario,
home
sharing
would
only
be
a
partial
solution
to
Portland’s
housing
shortage.
However,
it
can
act
as
a
relatively
“low-hanging-fruit”
bridge,
easing
pressure
on
the
rental
market
while
larger
reforms
–
such
as
middle-housing
and
social
housing
initiatives
–
slowly
add
new
supply.

If
combined
with
zoning
changes
and
faster
permitting,
the
model
could
evolve
into
a
useful
tool
in
the
city’s
broader
affordability
strategy.