Institute For Justice Introduces First-in-Nation Single-Room Occupancy Model Legislation, “ROOM Act,” to Combat Housing Crisis in States

Arlington, Va.—Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) is announcing the publication of the ROOM Act, a new model bill to help combat the ongoing housing and homelessness crises across America. Standing for “Restoring Options in Occupancy Models”, this first-of-its-kind legislation removes the many barriers to co-living or single-room occupancy (SROs) currently enshrined in restrictive zoning ordinances, building codes and occupancy limit laws. IJ intends to help introduce the model legislation in several states in the coming 2026 legislative sessions.

“The housing crisis is real and is being felt by people all across the United States.” said IJ Legislative Attorney Samuel Hooper. “Removing barriers to co-living or single-room occupancy will give owners, renters, and developers greater options to build and live more affordably in more places.”

Co-living or single-room occupancy allows people to rent individual, lockable bedrooms in a building, while sharing communal facilities like kitchens and bathrooms with other tenants. This can be as simple as a homeowner renting a spare bedroom in their single-family house, or as complex as large-scale, premium co-living buildings for young professionals, located in converted former downtown office buildings. It has the potential to unlock millions of currently unused or underused bedrooms for lawful occupation over time, during an acute housing shortage while also importantly maintaining legitimate safety regulations

Single-room occupancy was a standard fixture in many cities, but was aggressively and deliberately phased out by local governments in the mid-20^th century, often during counterproductive efforts at urban renewal. This caused immense harm to people who couldn’t upgrade to a full-sized apartment or house, particularly in expensive cities such as New York or Chicago. People were displaced in large numbers, and the modern homelessness crisis was born.

IJ remains committed to finding ways to end obstructive zoning practices and making housing affordable for everyone. Through IJ’s Zoning Justice Project,  the Institute works to protect and promote the freedom to use property. For more than a century, the freedom to use property has been eroded through abusive zoning practices that disregard individual liberty and emphasize top-down planning over property rights. Those property rights have been further denigrated by the courts, where property owners have found little comfort from all but the most abusive zoning practices.

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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information on the case is available at: https://ij.org/legislation/restoring-options-in-occupancy-models-room-act/