Frequently Asked Questions for Landlords

Q: What is an SRO?

A: An SRO is an acronym for Single Room Occupancy. Typical SROs in the City of San Francisco are Residential Hotels. Most of these buildings do not have private, in unit, bathrooms and or kitchens. People often share both. They literally rent a single room.

Q: What is a Doubled Up Family?

A: A Doubled Up Family is a family that is renting a small space, a room, or a room-type of space in someone else’s private unit. Most cases are a Master-Tenant and Subtenant type of situations. Many of those cases are really similar to those found in SRO Hotels.

Q: How are families selected for this program?

A: Families in both types of living conditions, in SROs and Doubled Up, will be interviewed and the needs of all household members, living conditions, and other factors are considered. Families with the highest aggregated need will be selected and their information and documents are vetted before receiving the subsidy. 

Q: How long is this program?

A: Each cycle is expected to run for a minimum of five years, with hope that the City will allow for continued funding in each cycle. The time table was set based on an expected average of how often participants in the program receive affordable housing.

Q: How will the Family’s rent be paid?

A: The program has a payment process that allows for rent payments to be processed automatically without constant interactions between the participants, the program, or the landlord. 

Q: What if the Family cannot pay rent?

A: Fortunately, that’s a situation that the landlords don’t have to experience and worry about. If any financial changes, gains, or decreases occur, they will report those changes to the Foundation and changes to the subsidy would be made, without any effects to the landlord.

Q: What if I am having an issue with the family after they move in, are there resources to help me?

A: Yes, the SRO Collaborative, and to some extent, the Foundation, will be available for either direct services, or targeted referrals made on behalf of the family. There are specialized referrals that we have on call, if a situation calls for it.