A secure and comfortable place to live

What does secure and comfortable mean?

Let us start with comfort. Whilst comfort is a subjective concept, minimum standards should be expected. People should have the right to live in a home that:

Offers a comfortable temperature for living in – made possible by an affordable heating or cooling system.
Contains all the fixtures, furniture, and appliances needed for health and comfort.

Fortunately, many people already live in homes that meet these standards. However, even for these people, what is often missing is a sense of security. The right to a decent home should also liberate people from:

The threat of being made homeless, whether due to natural calamities or changes in financial circumstances.
The menace of intruders or burglaries – in a more equal society these risks should be greatly reduced.
The dangers of flooding, leaks, mold, or electrical and fire hazards – especially those caused by poor construction and maintenance, or building in flood-prone areas.

The universal application of each of the above will take time and effort. But if we redirect labour and resources away from activities that contribute little to our collective wellbeing, the universal right to a secure and comfortable place to live is perfectly achievable .

Fundamental requirements

The right to a decent a home can only become a sustainable reality if politicians fully embrace the following fundamental requirements:

Land and the existing housing stock needs to be distributed much more fairly between the population than it currently is.
In some places new homes may also need to be built.
The construction of new homes needs to minimise ecological harm and maximise energy-efficiency and the use of renewables.
Existing homes need to be retro-fitted for greater energy efficiency.
Many more people need to be employed and trained in industries relating to construction and renewable energy.
A major overhaul of the rules and policies governing the housing sector will be required.

Putting the above into practice will be a disruptive process and has the potential to alienate large numbers of people. It is therefore essential to make it a democratic exercise that actively engages citizens in the debate and decisions about housing policy .

Policy implications

There are many practical policies with which the right to a decent home could be made achievable, providing they have widespread political support. These include:

Imposing a land or property tax designed to encourage the sale of property that is currently concentrated in the hands of a small proportion of the population – the main aim is to bring down property prices and make them more affordable to ordinary people.
The use of tighter regulations and rent controls in the private sector rental market.
The purchase of land and property by the public sector for the purpose of providing or constructing rented social housing.
The promotion of community housing projects, whereby community members are collectively engaged in the ownership or management of housing in their area.
Government subsidies and regulations to promote the development of environmentally sustainable homes.

Housing is a highly sensitive subject. For governments to gain political support for radical reforms, the public needs to be heavily engaged in all stages of policy development and implementation. Considerable resources will need to be devoted to creating democratic engagement.

Questions for public debate

Through public debate using citizens juries and other democratic processes, many important questions will have to be discussed and answered, including the following:

What role should home ownership play compared to renting and how should the rights of owners differ from those of renters?
How should the public sector, private sector and communities cooperate in the provision of housing?
Should there be limitations on the number or size of homes that an individual can own, and if so, how should they be applied?
Where should new housing be constructed?
What types of homes and housing are needed to meet the needs of different types of household?
How should decisions about housing developments be made?

These are controversial questions that require careful consideration. The central focus needs to be on determining which answers lead most directly to achieving the universal and sustainable right to a decent home.

Housing and the environment

At present we live in a world where new housing often degrades the environment and reduces biodiversity. This is because not enough resources are devoted to resolving the potential conflict.

Governments don’t devote the resources that are needed to make housing sustainable because they have handed over control of our resources to wealthy private sector interests.
The private sector doesn’t solve the problem because it is not profitable for them to use the resources they control in this way.

It is important to remember that the most fundamental resource when it comes to solving problems such as this one is the ingenuity and labour of people.

Imagine an army of engineers and construction workers, ecologists and gardeners, all working together to create and maintain human habitats that exist in harmony with nature.
Imagine the transformation that such an army could bring to our urban landscapes, turning them from concrete jungles into verdant spaces rich in natural textures and biodiversity.
Imagine a world in which trees and plants play a central role in the design of human settlements, helping to regulate temperatures, controlling pollution, and meeting the human need to connect with nature.

All of this would be possible if we redeployed the workforce. We need to move workers into enterprises that really matter – away from enterprises that produce things that only a few rich people can afford, away from enterprises that make the rich richer by persuading the rest of us to buy things we don’t need and quickly discard.

Finding a home

Finding a decent affordable home can be a daunting task in our modern society. Even for people with money and resources it can be a very stressful process.

Imagine a world in which in which much of the anguish has been removed.
With housing shortages no longer a problem, the challenge of finding somewhere suitable will be greatly reduced.
People will still compete for more desirable homes and salary differences will still give some people an advantage in this competition.
However, paying for a suitable home, whether rented or owned, will no longer be the overwhelming challenge that it so often is for people today.

All of this is possible, if citizens gain democratic control over their time and labour. For this to happen we need to vote for politicians and leaders that have the nerve and moral fibre to challenge the economic elites that currently control what we do and buy. A better world is possible. We just need to believe in it and then act to make it happen.

Housing and community

Homes do not exist in isolation from each other and efforts to improve housing needs to go hand in hand with a focus on building communities and public spaces. Communities can be strengthened in various ways, including…

when the people that live in the community can also find work in the community
when children can go to school close to where they live
when healthcare and other social care services are available in the community
when people can do most of their shopping close to the neighbourhoods in which they live
when there are plenty of local cafes, bars and restaurants
when there are libraries, community centres, sports facilities and other local services close by

The more businesses and services that are available in the community, the more local employment opportunities there are, and the more opportunities there are for people who live in the community to interact with each other in meaningful ways. Proximity between homes and services creates other benefits too..

It creates opportunities for walking and cycling instead of taking the car, which can be good for our health and the health of the planet.
Less reliance on cars combined with good urban design and improved public transport reduces noise and air pollution which is good for both our physical health and mental wellbeing.
Reducing the need for a car saves people money, which in a redesigned economy, could also mean having to work fewer hours to pay the bills.
Cars take up a lot of space which could be used for other things, such as public parks and recreational spaces.

A secure and comfortable place to live is about so much more than the house or apartment in which people live. It is about the people and public spaces that surround us. The right to a home must surely go hand in hand with the right to decent public spaces beyond the boundaries of our own private domain.