Sober Living Homes and Transitional Housing for Addiction Recovery

What is a Sober Living Home?

Sober living programs are houses within a local community where someone with a substance use disorder or a co-occurring mental health disorder can transition to after inpatient or residential treatment. You can rent a room, attend 12-step meetings, get a job and surround yourself with sober peer support. Moreover, sober living homes are a place to build recovery confidence by proving that you can live on your own and stay sober.¹

The National Association of Recovery Residences (NARR) is one of several certification programs for sober living homes. While each state may have different definitions and requirements, there is a general understanding that there are four different types of sober living houses based on levels of support. Each requires you to follow policies, procedures and house rules. They differ in several ways.²

Service-Provider Sober Living Program (Level 4)

The service-provider model for sober living is often an extension of a larger treatment facility with credentialed clinicians working on site. Staff provide counseling, recovery activities, and classes to help you maintain the life skills you learned in the inpatient program.

Supervised Sober House (Level 3)

In a supervised sober house, counselors and staff provide services in the home or the community. Continued development of life skills is a crucial feature. In this type of housing, a house manager, staff and case managers support and supervise residents.

Monitored Sober Living Home (Level 2)

At least one house manager supervises monitored sober living houses. Housing is typically a single-family home or apartment.

Peer-Run Sober Living Program (Level 1)

An organization or board usually oversees peer-run programs to make significant decisions.

Sober living homes follow the social model of recovery that provides a homelike environment, hires staff in recovery, values education about recovery, understands addiction is a disease, involves residents in decision-making, and gives back to the community.³

[cta]

What are the Rules of a Sober Living Home?

As the name implies, sober house residents must be drug and alcohol-free. If someone relapses, they must exit the sober living program and preferably return to inpatient treatment rather than go home. Each sober living program will have rules that fit their program, which may differ from those of other programs. However, a few common rules are applied for most sober living communities, including:⁴

Working or volunteering occurs at most recovery residences
Drug testing at every level of recovery housing
Attending 12-step or other support groups
Attending house meetings

Participation seems to be the most significant factor in sober living. Every time you participate in a recovery activity, you build recovery capital or the resources you can use to help you maintain sobriety. Examples of recovery capital include social and community involvement, living in a safe neighborhood where people get along, meaningful activities and overall physical and psychological health.⁵ Sober living homes provide this and much more.

How Much Does Transitional Housing Cost?

The research on the costs of sober living programs is lacking. Fees vary across the United States and seem to mimic the cost of living in the neighborhood where the recovery house is located. For example, areas with more treatment facilities tend to be less expensive.

To stay at a sober house, the cost depends on various factors, such as:⁶

Housing market in the area
Level of program, with levels four and five being the most expensive due to the need to pay credentialed staff
Length of time you stay at the sober house
Personal expenses like food, cigarettes and supplies

Some sober living houses offer scholarships or sliding fee scales to assist those with little financial support, while other programs receive federal, state and private funding. Most sober homes prioritize your sobriety over making money and will work hard to help you find a way to stay as long as you need to stay. For some, that is a few months, but for others, it is more than a year.⁶

The Excellence in Recovery Act requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to promote quality recovery housing to everyone with a substance use disorder. One of their objectives is to provide funding, in the form of grants and to figure out how to make recovery housing more accessible and practical.

Benefits of a Sober Living Home

A multiple-study review shows residents of sober living programs see positive results, such as a decrease in psychiatric symptoms, longer periods of abstinence, reduced criminal activity and increased employment.

When surveyed, residents noted additional benefits, including:⁸

Staying longer in outpatient treatment
Receiving more supportive services
Practicing life skills and recovery skills
Receiving support from peers
Having structure and routine
Being held accountable for actions

Additionally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports four factors necessary to help people recover from substance use and co-occurring disorders adequately:¹⁰

Encourage others to make good decisions about their health
Give them a stable place to live
Give them chances to be successful as productive members of society
Build positive and supportive relationships

[cta]

How to Choose the Right Sober Living Home

A report on the physical aspects of sober living homes and how they influence successful recovery provides insight into the needs of residents. When you are considering a sober living home, keep some things in mind:¹¹

The location of the sober house should be in a safe, quiet neighborhood with minimal crime and no access to alcohol or drugs.
Transportation is nearby to help you get to work, treatment and run errands.
Appearance should resemble other homes in the neighborhood.
Design should make it easy to socialize.
Design should give each resident opportunities for time alone and time as a group.
Security and a plan of action should be in place if something or someone violates that security.
Maintenance and upkeep opportunities should be available to prevent boredom and to reassure the neighborhood that the sober house is a positive addition to the area.
House rules should be easy to understand and with which to comply.
House managers should have a healthy relationship with residents.

Inpatient treatment motivates you to stay sober. When you leave, you may feel confident you can do it. However, over time, and because life can be challenging, motivation can fade. That’s why the environment you move into must continue motivating you in recovery.¹²

When comparing sober living houses, determine how the staff and peers keep each other excited for sobriety. Sober living homes are more effective when they provide opportunities to build peer relationships in recovery. Caring about others is often an excellent motivator to avoid relapse because you don’t want to disappoint them.

Peers in sober houses can also help one another through caring feedback. Other components of motivation in a sober living program include:¹²

Access to counselors who can provide motivational interviewing
How the sober house meets unique needs, such as co-occurring mental health or physical health conditions
Engagement in 12-step and other peer support groups

Standards for Sober Living Homes

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration set standards for sober living programs. You can consider these standards when deciding on a sober house. A few of these include:

Access to a range of recovery supports
House culture
Level of care
Program certification and licensure
Medication-assisted treatment, if needed
Relapse policy
Medication policy
Success rate of previous residents

Whether you are ready to transition from a higher or lower level of care or want to start your recovery care in a sober living home, the process can begin today. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to be connected with a sober living program that meets your needs.

Resources

1. Jason, L.A., Salomon-Amend, M., Guerrero, M., Bobak,T., O’Brien, J., and Soto-Nevarez, A. (2021). The Emergence, Role, and Impact of Recovery Support Services. Alcohol Reviews Current Research, 41(1).
2. National Association of Recovery Residences. (2020). https://narronline.org/
3. Polcin, D., Mericle, A., Howell, J., Sheridan, D., & Christensen, J. (2014). Maximizing Social Model Principles in Residential Recovery Settings. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 46(5), 436-443.
4. National Association of Recovery Residences. (2020). https://narronline.org/
5. Parlier-Ahmad, A. B., Terplan, M., Svikis, D. S., Ellis, L., & Martin, C. E. (2021). Recovery Capital Among People Receiving Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder with Buprenorphine. Harm Reduction Journal, 18(1), 103.
6. Mericle, A. A., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Gupta, S., Sheridan, D. M., & Polcin, D. L. (2016). Distribution and Neighborhood Correlates of Sober Living House Locations in Los Angeles. American Journal of Community Psychology, 58(1-2), 89-99.
7. Reif S, George P, Braude L, Dougherty RH, Daniels AS, Ghose SS, Delphin-Rittmon ME. (2014). Recovery Housing: Assessing the Evidence. Psychiatric Services, 1;65(3):295-300.
8. Mericle AA, Slaymaker V, Gliske K, Ngo Q, Subbaraman MS. (2021). The Role of Recovery Housing During Outpatient Substance Use Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 8:108638.
9. Polcin, D. L., Mahoney, E., Wittman, F., Sheridan, D., & Mericle, A. A. (2021). Understanding Challenges for Recovery Homes During COVID-19. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 93, 102986.
10. Wittman, F., Jee, B., Polcin, D. L., & Henderson, D. (2014). The Setting is the Service: How the Architecture of Sober Living Residences Supports Community Based Recovery. International Journal of Self-Help & Self-Care, 8(2), 189-225.
11. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2025). Recovery and Recovery Support.
12. Polcin, D. L., & Korcha, R. (2015). Motivation to Maintain Sobriety Among Residents of Sober Living Recovery Homes. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, 6, 103-111.

the Take-Away

Narcotics.com is user supported. We receive a commission fee from purchases made through BetterHelp links. Learn More