The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) administers the City of San Diego’s (City) Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Hotel Regulations (San Diego Municipal Code Sections 143.0510 – 143.0590):
The purpose of these regulations is to ensure the retention of the existing number of SRO hotel rooms and to provide assistance to tenants of SRO hotel rooms that will be displaced by the demolition, conversion, or rehabilitation of existing SRO hotel rooms. These regulations are intended to benefit the general public by minimizing the adverse impact on the housing supply and on displaced persons, particularly those who are very low income, elderly, or disabled, resulting from the permanent or temporary loss of SRO hotel rooms through their demolition, conversion, or rehabilitation.
The authority to regulate SROs in the City of San Diego is provided under state law, Government Code Sec. 7060.
Under the City’s SRO Ordinance, SDHC does not have jurisdiction over SRO units unless an owner takes action that requires a City permit to:
- Convert the SRO units to a different use;
- Rehabilitate the SRO; or
- Eliminate the SRO units
When the owner applies for such a permit from the City, the City then notifies SDHC, which administers the provisions of the City’s SRO Ordinance.
The SRO Ordinance includes requirements for plans to replace SRO units and relocation assistance for SRO residents.
