A/68/289
I. Introduction
1.
In her previous report (A/67/286), the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to
non-discrimination in this context analysed the impact of prevalent housing policies
implemented to promote access to homeownership for the urban poor. In the present
report, the Special Rapporteur refers briefly to some previous findings while
assessing two alternative housing policies — rental and collective housing — that
can play a key role in the promotion of the enjoyment of the right to adequate
housing for those living in poverty.
II. The rise of housing finance and the decline of non-market
housing policies
2.
In the late 1970s, a dramatic shift occurred in housing policies, starting with
North America and Western Europe, followed later by some countries in Latin
America, Asia, Africa and by formerly planned economies. The shift, calling for the
transfer of activities from State control to the private sector and for unrestricted
markets, soon gained hegemony, shaping the policies of States, international
financial institutions and development agencies. The effects of the approach on
housing policies, hence, on the right to adequate housing and related human rights
across the globe have been striking. 1 The new role of the State as “enabler” led to
creating conditions and institutions to support housing finance systems to promote
homeownership under the neoliberal dogma of reliance on private property and
market forces. 2
3.
Developed and developing countries have been steadily moving away from
traditional supply-side assistance to demand-side housing policies. As a result, the
financial sector and the private housing market became the primary mechanisms for
allocating housing, by encouraging households to take credit, while the role of
public housing and supply-side incentives has been gradually declining.
Development assistance greatly influenced the expansion of market-based housing
finance and boosted housing market activity in developing countries. 3
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1
2
3
13-42184
World Bank, Housing: Enabling Markets to Work, World Bank Policy Paper (Washington, D.C.,
1993), 6.
J. Doherty and others, The Changing Role of the State: Welfare Delivery in the Neoliberal Era
(Brussels, European Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless
(FEANTSA), 2005).
Housing Finance Systems for Countries in Transition: Principles and Examples (United Nations
publication, Sales No. 05.II.E.8), p. 7; World Bank, The Emerging Role of Housing Finance
(Washington, D.C., 1988).
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