Sober living guide
Can you get kicked out of sober living?
Yes. A sober living home can ask a resident to leave for breaking its written house rules, for example by using alcohol or drugs, violence or threats, or theft. How removal works depends on the home's rules and on state law. In New Jersey, the example this guide uses, the state's rules let the operator or a vote of the residents remove someone from a licensed cooperative sober living residence under the procedure the house rules set out (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3). Federal fair-housing law still protects people in recovery from disability discrimination, though not for current illegal drug use.
Reviewed against public records, October 2026: N.J.A.C. 5:27, the federal Fair Housing Act and New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination. General information, not legal advice. Sources
What gets a resident asked to leave a sober living home?
Breaking a written house rule, and above all a serious one, such as using or having alcohol or drugs, violence or threats, or theft.
Sober living homes, also called recovery residences, each write their own rules, so what can get someone removed varies from home to home. New Jersey, for example, requires a licensed home to post its rules in the building and give a copy to every resident when they move in (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.2(c)).
The state also sets limits on what those rules can demand. House rules may require weekly drug and alcohol screening, and they may set a reasonable curfew, but a curfew can't apply while a resident is at a recovery- or work-related activity, and it can't stop reasonable visits or errands (N.J.A.C. 5:27-13.2).
New Jersey rules
What house rules may require
- In writingPosted in the home and given to each resident at move-in
- WeeklyDrug and alcohol screening of residents may be required
- CurfewReasonable, and never during work or recovery activities
Sources: N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.2(c), 13.2
Does one relapse mean you're kicked out?
Not always. It depends on the home's written rules.
Some sober homes discharge a resident after any use; others start with a warning and a written plan. New Jersey's rule for licensed cooperative residences names house-rule violations about alcohol or drugs as grounds for removal, decided by the operator or a vote of the residents (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c)). So the policy you sign is what decides it.
That makes the relapse policy one of the first things to ask about, along with what happens if you tell staff about a slip yourself. If it has already happened, the next step is the same either way: get back in touch with your treatment and your support people.
After a slip: what to do after a relapse · relapse warning signs
How does removal work under New Jersey's rules?
In a licensed cooperative sober living residence, removal follows the house rules, not a court eviction case.
New Jersey's rooming and boarding houses can evict a resident only for good cause and under the procedure of the Anti-Eviction Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1). The same rule sets that aside for sober living homes licensed as cooperative sober living residences (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c)).
- Who decidesThe operator, or a vote of the residents.N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c)
- On what groundsA violation of the written house rules, including the rules against having or using alcohol or drugs.N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c)
- What doesn't applyThe Anti-Eviction Act's good-cause and procedure references; and, for a drug or alcohol house-rule violation, the three-working-day notice to the county welfare board.N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c), 3.4(c)
General information, not legal advice. A home that isn't licensed as a cooperative sober living residence, or a home in another state, may fall under different rules.
What protections do sober living residents keep?
Your civil rights, and protection from disability discrimination for alcoholism and past drug addiction.
Three layers of law apply. The federal Fair Housing Act treats alcoholism and past drug addiction as disabilities, but not current illegal drug use (42 U.S.C. 3602(h); 24 C.F.R. 100.201). It requires reasonable accommodation in a home's rules and policies when a disability makes it necessary, though it doesn't protect a tenancy that would be a direct threat to others' health or safety (42 U.S.C. 3604(f)).
New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination covers actual or perceived disability in housing, and housing providers must reasonably accommodate residents with disabilities (NJ Division on Civil Rights). The state's sober living rules keep a resident's privacy, sealed mail and own doctor, and the right to complain to the home or the state without reprisal (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.1).
Federal
Fair Housing Act
Protects
- Alcoholism and past drug addiction as disabilities
- Reasonable accommodation in rules and policies
Limit
- A tenancy that is a direct threat to others
42 U.S.C. 3602(h), 3604(f); 24 C.F.R. 100.201
New Jersey
Law Against Discrimination
Protects
- Actual or perceived disability in housing
- Reasonable accommodation by housing providers
NJ Division on Civil Rights
Licensed sober homes
N.J.A.C. 5:27
Protects
- Privacy, sealed mail, your own doctor
- Complaints to the home or the state without reprisal
Allows
- Removal under the house rules, by the operator or a residents' vote
N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.1, 3.3(c)
Rule or right? Sort eight statements
Pick one answer for each. It's a quick check of this guide, not a score of anyone's recovery, and nothing is saved or sent.
What happens if you have to leave?
Your housing ends; your treatment doesn't have to.
A sober home is housing, and an outpatient program is a separate service. Keep your next treatment appointment, ask for the decision and the house rule it rests on in writing, and check what your housing agreement says about your belongings.
If you need a place to stay or a treatment referral, SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year (SAMHSA, 2026).
If you have to leave
Four things to do first
- TreatmentKeep your next appointment
- In writingThe decision and the rule it rests on
- BelongingsCheck what the housing agreement says
- HelplineSAMHSA's free, confidential, 24/7 line: 1-800-662-4357
Source: SAMHSA, 2026
How can you lower the risk before you move in?
Get the house rules in writing and ask how removal works.
Four things to ask any recovery home about, on the phone and again on the visit.
The National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) standard calls for a written agreement before a resident commits, covering resident rights, financial obligations, relapse policies and what happens to belongings left in the home, and for a grievance procedure that lets residents take unresolved complaints to the home's oversight organization (NARR Standard 3.0, 2018).
- Get the rules in writingNew Jersey requires licensed homes to post them and give them to you at move-in (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.2(c)).
- Ask what leads to dischargeWhich breaks are serious, and which start with a warning.
- Ask what happens after a slipA written plan, or discharge after any use.
- Ask how to request an accommodationFor a disability or prescribed medication.
Questions about leaving a sober living home
It depends on the written house rules. For a licensed cooperative sober living residence, New Jersey leaves the removal procedure to the house rules (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c)), and the three-working-day notice to the county welfare board doesn't apply when the removal is for a drug or alcohol house-rule violation (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.4(c)). Ask each home what its rules say about timing before you move in.
Not a licensed cooperative sober living residence that follows its house rules. Other rooming and boarding houses generally need good cause and the Anti-Eviction Act's procedure (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1), but the state's rules let these sober homes remove a resident by the operator's decision or a vote of the residents for a house-rule violation (N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.3(c)). Other housing may follow different rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
The Fair Housing Act's exclusion is for current illegal drug use (42 U.S.C. 3602(h)), and federal law requires reasonable accommodation in a home's rules when a disability makes it necessary (42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B)). New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination also requires housing providers to reasonably accommodate residents with disabilities. Ask how a home stores and handles prescribed medication before you move in. Sober living on MAT covers the questions to ask.
Not necessarily. A sober home is housing and an outpatient program is a separate service. Ask your program directly what happens to your treatment, and keep your next appointment.
Partly. The Fair Housing Act counts alcoholism and past drug addiction as disabilities, but its definition excludes current, illegal use of a controlled substance (42 U.S.C. 3602(h); 24 C.F.R. 100.201). It still requires reasonable accommodation in rules and policies when a disability makes it necessary (42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B)). Whether a particular situation is protected depends on the facts; this is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. N.J.A.C. 5:27, Regulations Governing Rooming and Boarding Houses. nj.gov. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- N.J.A.C. 5:27-3.1, Rights of residents; 5:27-3.2, House rules; 5:27-3.3, Eviction; 5:27-3.4; 5:27-13.2. Cornell LII (3.1), (3.2), (3.3), (3.4), (13.2). Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3602(h) and 3604(f). Cornell LII (3602), (3604). HUD regulation, 24 C.F.R. 100.201. Cornell LII. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. Discrimination in Housing. njoag.gov. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- National Alliance for Recovery Residences. NARR Standard 3.0, November 2018. narronline.org. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- SAMHSA. National Helpline. samhsa.gov. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Clarity Sober Living. House rules (for "How Clarity Sober Living handles removal").
This guide is general information, not legal advice.