AHS Treatment of Hotel Rooms and SROs

There have been some questions in the recent discussion about how the American Housing Survey treats hotel rooms and single-room occupancy (SRO) units. I have checked with my colleagues at Census to make sure that I understand the procedure. If one of these kinds of units meets the Census definition of a housing unit, it is included in the AHS. If not, it is excluded as being out of the universe for this survey. Here is some language from Census instructions that may be helpful. HTYPE is a variable in the survey instrument. The values of 5, 6, and 7 that are mentioned below are all housing unit classifications, and so would be included in the survey.

Note that the instructions for HTYPE=6 mean that “ordinary” hotel rooms, where people stay for a short period of time and then leave, are not considered housing units and are excluded from the AHS.

Hotels, Motels, Boarding Houses

Housing Unit in Nontransient Hotel, Motel (HTYPE=5)
Enter “5” if the sample unit (SU) is in a nontransient hotel, motel, motor court, etc., and is a separate living quarters. By definition, all separate living quarters in a nontransient hotel, motel, motor court, etc., are housing units.

Housing Unit Permanent in Transient Hotel, Motel (HTYPE=6)
Enter “6” only if the SU is occupied or intended for occupancy by permanent guests or resident employees and is a housing unit. Permanent, nontransient guests usually stay a month or more, and have no usual home elsewhere.

Housing Unit in Rooming House or Boarding House (HTYPE=7)
Enter “7” for sample units which meet the housing unit definition in a rooming house, or a combination rooming and boarding house.

Housing Unit (HU) Definition

The Census Bureau definition of a housing unit is a single-family house, townhouse, mobile home or trailer, apartment, group of rooms, or single room that is occupied as a separate living quarters or, if vacant, is intended for occupancy as a separate living quarters.

In order to be a HU, the structure must meet the following two requirements—separateness and direct access. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other persons in the building. Direct access refers to how occupants enter their living quarters. If an occupant or intended occupant has to go through another HU to get to the SU, then the SU does not have direct access and, therefore, the SU is not a housing unit. Examples of direct access include:

• A single family house with entry through an outside door.

• An apartment with entry from an outside door or a common hallway. A common hall can be a:

– Hallway
– Vestibule
– Foyer

Group Quarters (GQs) Definition (basic)

GQs are a type of living quarters where the residents share common facilities or receive authorized care or custody. Units in independent, assisted, or congregate housing are not group quarters if the residents live separately (independently).

Dav Vandenbroucke
Senior Economist
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
451 7th Street SW, Room 8222
Washington, DC 20410

Email david.a.vandenbroucke@hud.gov
Phone 202-402-5890