America’s empty bedrooms are up for grabs

This story was originally published in The Highlight .

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Todd Waller wasn’t expecting to spend the latter half of his 30s living with roommates.

But in late 2022, following a breakup with his girlfriend, he needed to find a new place to live, quickly.

A social worker based in the Atlanta metro, Waller started googling “efficiency apartments” and stumbled onto an ad for PadSplit, a company founded in 2017 that lets property owners rent out individual furnished bedrooms in single-family homes by the week.

“It said I could get approved right away and move in tomorrow,” he recalled.

There was no security deposit required.

All of a sudden, Waller found himself living with six other people and able to save a lot of money.

His rent was just $180 per week, or less than $800 per month.

Though he earned a decent salary, he never really had anything left over after all his bills were paid, and the new financial breathing room made the tradeoff of housemates feel worth it.

Key takeaways Cities spent much of the 20th century banning cheap rented rooms, and a 1974 Supreme Court ruling still lets them decide who counts as a “family” under zoning law.

That’s now being challenged on two fronts.

A Kansas lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to revisit that precedent, and “Golden Girls” bills that have already passed in four states and are spreading.

The next few years will determine whether co-living stays a niche workaround or becomes a normal option, with more states set to take up the issue in 2027.