Housing policy-making in Africa: Ten common assumptions

• Published in: Habitat international 2015-10, Vol.49, p.413-418
• Main Author: Tipple, Graham
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Affordable housing; Africa; Construction; Construction activity; Decision-making; Household income; Households; Housing; Housing finance; Housing policy; Investments; Land; Mortgages; Poor; Regulation; Rent; Sub-Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 0197-3975; 1873-5428
• DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.06.003

Ten constant assumptions seem to rule policy-making on housing in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are:1.Urban land and housing are expensive and more unaffordable than in the past.2.Rents are too high and skyrocketing.3.The solution to the housing problem is to build housing more cheaply.4.Mortgages for more/poorer households are a large part of the solution.5.Affordable housing is possible through formal sector private investments.6.Establishment of a National Housing Trust Fund will help many households own their own home.7.Housing affordability depends upon household income.8.Land registration is the solution to non-bankable land.9.New supply policy should be based on single household villas on serviced plots.10.Every household should become an owner of housing. From recent experience in seven countries in the region, this paper argues that these are generally untrue and work against the effective provision of appropriate housing affordable by the majority of households in Sub-Saharan Africa. •In Sub-Saharan Africa, housing is generally not expensive; rather, incomes are too low.•Most enabling of housing has benefited the small middle classes.•Owner-occupation of single-household formal dwellings is unlikely to be an effective aim of housing policy for a majority.•Multi-occupied housing with shared services could be an appropriate way forward for low-income households.