Community rooming houses: A key response to homelessness

Rooming houses (also known as boarding or lodging houses) were once regarded as an accepted form of accommodation, especially for single working people. Changing economies, housing markets and public policies, however, have led to a dramatic decline in their number, amenity and social status, with a corresponding proliferation of shonky landlords exploiting the rooming house's role as the last bastion of private rental market affordability for sole occupants.