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 personal hygiene, washing, cooking, sleeping, working and relaxing.

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.
Many more new homes 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 have been largely eliminated.
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 we as citizens decide to take back democratic control of our time and labour. To do this we need to vote for politicians and governments 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.