In the first half of the 20th century, American cities were filled with SROs, Single Room Occupancy hotels and privately owned, “boarding” houses. They offered private rooms, shared bathrooms, and an affordable place to live for millions of workers, retirees, and newcomers chasing opportunity. My grandmother turned her home into a boarding house (single room occupancy) in the 1930’s, following my grandfather’s passing, as a way to sustain her household and provide for her family; my Mom.
SROs were a cornerstone of urban life. A flexible, low-cost housing option that kept downtowns alive and gave people dignity on limited means. But starting in the 1960s, zoning changes, building codes, and redevelopment policies began to erase SROs from the urban landscape. By the 1980s, most had vanished.
In their absence, the need for affordable small-scale living didn’t disappear. It just changed form. Today, that need has resurfaced as “shared housing”, informal roommate arrangements where adults split rent, utilities, and common spaces. What used to be a boarding house with a manager and clear expectations is now a Craigslist post or a group chat.
The modern roommate economy is driven by the same pressures that made SROs essential: rising rents, stagnant wages, and the desire to live near jobs and amenities. But unlike SROs, shared houses often lack consistency, privacy, and stability. They fill a gap, but they’re a patch, not a plan.
A Modern Revival: The ADU Movement
That’s where Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) come in.
Across the country, cities are rediscovering the power of small housing — and doing it in a way that fits modern codes and lifestyles. An ADU might be a backyard cottage, basement apartment, or converted garage, a self-contained living space with its own kitchen and bath, built on the same lot as a primary home. These dwelling units are most commonly built to the HUD code or to IRC specifications, permanently anchored to the site. Occasionally, an ADU is built to the ANSI code, but dictates that this unit is not meant for long term habitation (<30 days per occupancy); the same as an RV.
ADUs serve many of the same purposes that SROs once did:
- They create affordable rental options in established neighborhoods.
- They offer flexibility for multigenerational living or supplemental income.
- They provide privacy and independence, something today’s shared houses can’t always deliver.
Cities like Los Angeles, Austin, Portland, and Seattle have embraced ADUs as part of a broader strategy to make housing more attainable. They represent a regulated, dignified return to small-scale living, helping homeowners and renters alike adapt to modern economic realities.
The New “Room Economy”
If the SRO was the housing of the industrial era, and the shared house reflects the gig economy, the ADU may be the next logical step, a smart, scalable answer to the same old problem: too many people, not enough affordable places to live.
The desire for “just enough space” is timeless. Whether through a rented room, a shared house, or a backyard cottage, Americans are again discovering that smaller can be smarter, and that flexibility, not square footage, may be the true measure of modern comfort.
In short:
We may have lost the SROs of yesterday, but we’re reinventing their spirit in garages, basements, and backyards across America.
The “return of the room” is happening, just with a new name and a new code section.
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