1 in 10 SF Housing Units for Homeless Sit Vacant
February 19, 2021

Seneca Hotel entrance

San Francisco Public Press, by Nuala Bishari

Nearly one in every 10 of San Francisco’s permanent supportive housing units — earmarked for people experiencing homelessness — is sitting empty.

The number of vacant units has climbed 58% since September and represents 9.9% of the permanent supportive housing stock. That’s more than triple the 3% limit the city said in November 2019 that it would impose on such vacancies.

Those units play a critical role in helping homeless people move off the streets and into more stable situations. And during the pandemic, they allow the city to create more space in shelter-in-place hotels, offering even more options for shelter to residents of the city who would otherwise go without, and potentially chipping away at San Francisco’s homelessness crisis.

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