How It's Used

“Many apartment buildings that require this kind of intimate cooperation have rough reputations that make them unappealing beyond the practical inconvenience of sharing a shower with half a dozen strangers — not an insignificant compromise in its own right. Single-room-occupancy buildings (rooming houses with six or more units) are often used as supportive housing for people coming out of homelessness or rehabilitation programs. Others are a landing pad for new immigrants. Some are quite grim, poorly run and badly maintained. ‘It is easy to lump together good S.R.O.’s and bad ones,' says Dov Treiman, a lawyer and the editor of The Housing Court Reporter. 'The most visible ones are those filling the almost last-ditch needs of the most needy in society.’"

—Elizabeth A. Harris, “Room to Rent. Bath Nearby,” The New York Times, 14 Dec 08.

WordPlay

SRO

Links

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Single-Room Occupany