The most affordable housing in New York City could already be accessible
Mayor Adams has put forward an ambitious rezoning proposal known as the “City of Yes” to promote new housing construction across the five boroughs. The plan includes common-sense ideas like allowing apartments above storefronts and reducing expensive parking requirements. Adams is hearkening back to a time before zoning regulations when row homes and brownstones were plentiful in the city. It’s interesting that in New York, the concept of increasing housing supply to meet growing demand is met with controversy.
However, among Adams’ proposals, there is one costless idea that could further reduce housing costs: utilizing the existing housing stock more effectively. An outdated law currently prevents homeowners and renters from accepting “unrelated persons” into their homes or apartments, even if there are empty bedrooms available. It’s surprising that in a city known for its cultural liberalism, there exists a “roommates” law that deems it illegal for more than three unrelated persons to live together in a dwelling unit as a common household.
For example, an elderly couple in Queens struggling to pay property taxes cannot allow a younger couple with a child to occupy their spare rooms. This also means that tenants in the public housing system, where nearly 30% of apartments are considered under-occupied, are unable to sublet their empty rooms to individuals on the waiting list.
Recent census data shows that only 10% of New York City’s 3.1 million housing units include “nonrelatives.” Among owner-occupied units, the number is even lower at 5%. Most likely, these figures comply with the law limiting the number of unrelated persons, regardless of whether there are empty rooms in the property.
Similar laws are found across the US and contribute to the housing affordability crisis. Zoning codes in 46 of the largest cities, suburbs, and municipalities impose limits on unrelated occupants. The fact that a densely populated city like New York has a law comparable to a private homeowners association in Plano, Texas, is surprising.
These laws have played a role in the decline of Americans taking in lodgers over the years. Census data indicates that a century ago, 3% of households had lodgers, a figure that has now dropped to less than 1%. During the last wave of immigration to New York at the turn of the 20th century, newcomers were often taken in as boarders instead of being accommodated in upscale hotels.
These restrictions on unrelated persons have also contributed to the decline in the average household size in the US. In 1960, the average household size was 3.33 persons, but it has steadily decreased since then. Single-person households have seen a significant increase, from 26 million in 2010 to over 37 million today.
New York City’s laws exacerbate the issue further by requiring a minimum of 80 square feet of space per resident to prevent overcrowding. If a migrant couple with a child is willing to share a small bedroom, they should be allowed to do so under the law rather than being forced to seek shelter.
While it’s true that the city’s roommates law may not be rigorously enforced, it still affects decisions made by homeowners and landlords. Arbitrary regulations can hinder the optimal utilization of existing housing resources.
Howard Husock is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of “The Poor Side of Town: And Why We Need It.”
