Housing

Housing generally refers to the social problem of ensuring that members of society have a home in which to live, whether this is a house, or some other kind of dwelling, lodging, or shelter. Many governments have a department that deals with housing, such as the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development., Housing Development Board in Singapore and Housing Authority in Hong Kong.

Macroeconomy and housing

Previous research shows that housing price is affected by the macroeconomy. Financial crisis, for example, led to a lower housing price.

Informal housing

The term informal housing can include any form of shelter or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the informal housing industry is part of the informal sector. To have informal housing status is to exist in ‘a state of deregulation, one where the ownership, use, and purpose of land cannot be fixed and mapped according to any prescribed set of regulations or the law.’ While there is no global unified law of property ownership typically, the informal occupant or community will lack security of tenure and, with this, ready or reliable access to civic amenities (potable water, electricity and gas supply, sanitation and waste collection). Due to the informal nature of occupancy, the state will typically be unable to extract rent or land taxes.

80/20 housing

In the United States, 80/20 housing is multifamily housing that meets federal guidelines for tax-exempt financing.

According to these guidelines, 20 percent of units must be rented to low-income households.