Current Issues of Single Room Occupancy

In the early 1900’s medium size hotels along Winnipeg’s Main Street were often filled with visitors who came to Winnipeg by train. Over time fewer visitors used the train. In the late 70’s passenger trains were no longer used and the downtown hotels immediately became empty. Who was going to rent the rooms and keep the hotels in business?
The city of Winnipeg decided the hotel rooms could be used as Single Room Occupancy (SRO) for individuals who can not afford to rent an apartment.

SRO’s constitute the last housing resort before homelessness. Most SRO residents are single older men. The majority of SRO residents live on incomes which are well below the poverty line, (approximately 50% of the poverty line), these residents pay 50% to 75% of their income on housing (Antolin, 1989).

In Winnipeg there are 772 SRO rooms and 1000 residents. The residents of SRO have a roof over their head to keep them warm and dry. Residents are not required to pay a damage deposit on their SRO and many residents can say they were part of a community (Distasio, 2005).

SROs have their share of problems; many residents do not have access to a private bathroom, instead they are obliged to share with multiple people on their floor. The residents are not protected by any tenant acts, and could be thrown out of their suite without a month’s notice. The Property Use Code for the SROs is legally CMHBH - Beverage Hotels (Winnipeg Property Assessment, 2007) and does not fall within tenant /landlord regulations. Without any tenant / landlord regulations, the resident could be forces onto the streets with no where to go.

Another serious problem has recently risen in the last few years. Soon the residents living in the SRO suites will no longer be able to live in the hotels because owners have been slowly selling their properties to investors who will renovate the buildings and transform them into middle class condominiums (Distasio, 2005).

Manitoba Housing Authority (MH) is an option for residents who used to live in SROs but there is a lengthy waiting list. Individuals who are applying must have a good rental history with Manitoba Housing Authority and income restrictions may apply. People who live in MH must pay one month rent prior to moving in and they must pay an additional charge for their electric bill (Public Manitoba Housing Authority, 2007). Many individuals living in SROs have a very limited budget and M.H. may not be affordable for them. In other words people who are forced to leave their SROs have limited opportunity to find housing.

Residents in other Canadian Cities who live in SROs are being pressured to move too. The governemt of British Columbia has made the initiative to protect the hotels and their tenants from developers. The Provincial Government announced on April 2, 2007 they will spend $80 million to buy eleven SRO hotels in Vancouver and Victoria, and fund more supportive housing units on the Lower Mainland. Government ownership of the SRO hotels means tenants will not be evicted by developers (CBC New.ca “pledged to target homelessness in B.C.” 2007).

Ontario has made improvements in the laws passed to protect tenants in SRO hotels.
In the passed, zoning regulations were not properly addressed in detail. These regulations were different in each of the former cities in the ‘Greater Toronto Area’. The city of Toronto needed to regulate all the SROs in a single system. In a process the city of Toronto combined the licenses in rooming houses from the separate cities. The cities had previously administered SROs individually and functioned under different regulations and procedures (Social Housing Strategies, 2004). Combining systems has enhanced Ontario’s ability to help protect SROs. Ontario drafted legislation to protect rental housing from demolition and conversion by extending the security of the tenure rights to the residents who are living in the hotels (Antolin, 1989).

Another option is to build small SRO’s for people who currently live in the existing hotels. The Tom Hom Group (THG) has designed new affordable SRO+ housing units for people in the United States. The housing units are approximately 350 square feet, and can offer residents some amenities. Community Catalysts Housing Alliance has partnered with THG to build affordable housing in San Diego. Community Catalyst is a nonprofit group serving individuals’ with disabilities training and other support services, including employment and housing (Moward, 2007).

Funding from the BC government along with new legislation in Ontario and design firms like THG have all helped to protect residents who live in SROs. Winnipeg and the Manitoba provincial government have the opportunity to evaluate the success of these and other projects in order to work towards protecting hotels, and hence the residents residing therein, to better their communities.

Matt

Sources:

Antolin, M. M. “Single Room Occupancy housing.” 1989 http://www.ihpr.ubc.ca/media/Antolin1989.pdf retrieved 25, 2008


CBC New.ca “pledged to target homelessness in B.C.” 2007, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/04/03/bc-housing.html retrieved 25, 2008


Distasio, J. “Beyond a Front Desk: The Residential Hotel as Home.” 2005, http://ius.uwinnipeg.ca/wira_publications.html retrieved 26, 2008


Moward, M. “Tom Hom Group Partners with nonprofit Developer.” (2007), San Diego Business Journal, June 2007. retrieved February 26, 2008


Public Manitoba Housing Authority: Manitoba Family. 2007, http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/housing/mha.html retrieved 25, 2008


Social Housing Strategies: City of Toronto Rooming House Issues and Future Options. 2004, http://www.toronto.ca/housing/pdf/rooming_house_finalreport.pdf retrieved March 17, 2008


Winnipeg Property Assessment. 2007. http://www.winnipegassessment.com/AsmtPub/ retrieved 26, 2008