When Jen Sierra, 25, relocated from Atlanta to New York City in 2022, she was surprised to discover apartments that featured bedrooms but lacked a living room. “To me, that’s essentially a studio,” she explains, “but having separate bedrooms without a living room was a concept I had never encountered before.” Sierra, a financial analyst, initially dreamed of a spacious Manhattan apartment, but quickly realized the high costs made that unrealistic.
Early in her search, Sierra and a friend rented a “one-bedroom flex” apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, which included a small living room. Later, she and a coworker sought a nicer place and decided to move to Queens, where rents are more affordable. They secured a rent-stabilized apartment costing approximately $3,700 per month, offering excellent transit options. However, the search was challenging due to limited availability and misleading pricing tactics, such as listings advertising free months that masked the true cost. Ultimately, Sierra chose an apartment without a living room.
To accommodate guests, Sierra keeps gatherings intimate, inviting only one or two friends at a time. She and her roommate creatively converted an entryway bench into extra seating and added a breakfast table with two chairs for casual visits. The building’s shared lounges provide additional social space, sometimes rented privately for up to $200 per hour. Although her rent remains similar to her previous place, the current building offers superior amenities, including in-unit laundry, a full gym, a doorman, and a dog run, which justifies her decision to stay.
In a significant development, the prevalence of shared rentals without living rooms in the U.S. has nearly tripled over the past five years, a 2026 study by the room rental platform SpareRoom. Young adults under 35 made up about 60% of SpareRoom’s U.S. roommate market in 2025. Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom’s communications director, notes that some roommates convert bedrooms into living rooms or vice versa to reduce rent costs, driven by soaring rents across major metropolitan areas. He emphasizes the importance of shared living spaces for social interaction, stating, “We need to spend time together in order to form connections.”
Financial planner Andrew Huynh from Connecticut highlights how rising housing expenses are prompting young renters to reconsider what constitutes essential living space. “As construction and housing costs have increased since the pandemic, developers are focusing on maximizing rentable bedrooms over shared living areas to maintain financial viability,” he explains. Huynh advises renters to adopt a long-term financial strategy by defining their goals—whether paying off debt, saving money, or preparing to buy a home—and building a plan accordingly.
Key takeaways from this trend include the impact of housing affordability on unconventional living arrangements, with no-living-room apartments becoming a common strategy to manage costs. Sierra’s experience illustrates that rent stabilization and predictable payments can be more valuable than an ideal floor plan. Huynh stresses that aligning one’s living situation with broader financial objectives helps maintain discipline and reduces stress.
