Back to the Future: In RI, an Effort to Revive Rooming Houses

June Speakman represents the 68th district in the Rhode Island House of Representatives

Phillip Suderman · March 2, 2026

Reprinted with permission from the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that representa clients free of charge in cutting-edge litigation defending vital constitutional rights. You can join us by supporting our work here: ij.org/support

Arlington, Va.—Late last Friday, (RI)State Representative June Speakman filed HB 8036 to help combat the housing crisis that is being felt across the state. Informally known as the ROOM Act, which stands for “Restoring Options in Occupancy Models” it represents a first-of-its-kind type of legislation that removes many barriers to co-living or single-room occupancy (SROs) currently enshrined in restrictive zoning ordinances, building codes and occupancy limit laws. The Institute for Justice (IJ), which as part of their mission to promote housing abundance and affordability across the nation, supports the bill and its passage.

“People are feeling the pinch and pull of affordable housing all across Rhode Island.” said IJ Legislative Attorney Samuel Hooper who also wrote the model legislation on which HB 8036 was based. “Removing barriers to co-living or single-room occupancy will give owners, renters, and developers greater options to build and live more affordably in more places.”

The bill comes as recent data by Realtor.com has reveals that Rhode Island has no affordable metros left for either homebuyers or renters due to construction and zoning hurdles.

In total, the report noted that all eight of Rhode Island’s cities—which includes Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket, Newport, and Central Falls—are now unaffordable for average earners.

The ROOM Act would remove several barriers to allow for streamlining construction of new units or the conversion of current buildings into modern co-living housing helping provide a valuable tool in bringing affordability back to Rhode Island communities.

Co-living or single-room occupancy allows people to rent individual, lockable bedrooms in a building, while sharing communal facilities like kitchens and bathrooms with other tenants. This can be as simple as a homeowner renting a spare bedroom in their single-family house, or as complex as large-scale, premium co-living buildings for young professionals, located in converted former downtown office buildings. It has the potential to unlock millions of currently unused or underused bedrooms for lawful occupation over time, during an acute housing shortage while also importantly maintaining legitimate safety regulations

Single-room occupancy was a standard fixture in many cities around the nation, but was aggressively and deliberately phased out by local governments in the mid-20th century, often during counterproductive efforts at urban renewal. This caused immense harm to people who couldn’t upgrade to a full-sized apartment or house, particularly in expensive cities such as New York or Chicago. People were displaced in large numbers, and the modern homelessness crisis was born.

IJ remains committed to finding ways to end obstructive zoning practices and making housing affordable for everyone. Through IJ’s Zoning Justice Project, the Institute works to protect and promote the freedom to use property. For more than a century, the freedom to use property has been eroded through abusive zoning practices that disregard individual liberty and emphasize top-down planning over property rights. Those property rights have been further denigrated by the courts, where property owners have found little comfort from all but the most abusive zoning practices.