Philadelphia rezoning bid would further stifle SRO development

"Single-room occupancy housing has made somewhat of a comeback among policymakers nationwide who've revived such dwellings as a low-cost safety net. Philadelphia officials, meanwhile, are weighing a zoning change that could threaten it locally instead. A proposed ordinance would ban group living in low-density residential areas within a district in northeast Philadelphia. The ordinance, filed in October 2025, has been in the city council's rules committee since last month."

"Like most U.S. cities, Philadelphia faces a significant housing shortage. The city's shortage is particularly concentrated among the lowest-income levels. Researchers at The Housing Initiative at Penn estimated in a report last year that the city has a deficit of approximately 64,500 affordable, available housing units for extremely low-income households. According to the research, this drives rent pressures up the income ladder."

"Philadelphia boarding houses originally sprang up in the 1700s. Many of the Founding Fathers stayed in boarding houses when they attended the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. For them, it was temporary housing while they wrote the Constitution. Use of spread significantly increased in the 19th century, becoming a backbone of Philadelphia's housing system as population and industry expanded."

Single-room occupancy housing has seen renewed interest among policymakers nationwide as a low-cost safety net. Philadelphia officials are considering a zoning change that would ban group living in low-density residential areas within a northeast district. The ordinance was filed in October 2025 and has sat in the city council's rules committee. Cities largely zoned such housing out of existence during the past century. A Pew report links the rise in homelessness to zoning that eliminated the housing type. Philadelphia faces a severe shortage of affordable units, especially for extremely low-income households, with an estimated deficit of about 64,500 units.

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