In many Western countries the numbers of homeless people with psychiatric problems have gradually grown in the past two decades. In the Netherlands new housing facilities for this group have been set up in the past few years. These facilities, called 'social boarding houses', offer bed, bath, bread and some basic support. This article presents the results of a research-project of the Trimbos-institute on the habitants of social boarding houses. The results show that habitants often have a long history in psychiatry, most of them have been homeless at least one period in their lives, almost all deal with psychiatric problems, some with addiction problems and the level of functioning is poor on average. The results also show that only one out of four habitants view the social boarding house as the most suitable living place for themselves. The authors conclude that social boarding houses reach their target population but are viewed by most habitants not as suitable living environments but as transit-places.