San Francisco may soon prohibit transient use of residential hotels (also known as “SRO” (single room occupancy) units). Sponsored by a swell of Supervisors – Aaron Peskin, Jane Kim, Ahsha Safai, Jeff Sheehy, Malia Cohen, Hillary Ronen, Norman Yee, and London Breed – the proposed Ordinance, if passed, would amend Administrative Code, Chapter 41 (i.e., the Hotel Conversion Ordinance) to prohibit the “conversion” of SRO units to Tourist or Transient Use, defined as “any use of a guest room for less than a 32-day term of tenancy by a party other than a Permanent Resident”.
By hosting guests instead of providing housing to residents, SRO owners can avoid the creation of a tenancy and the application of local eviction and rent controls to the units.
