Affordable Housing

Affordable housing means different things to different people. It includes homes that are sustainable, beautifully designed, professionally managed, and connected to services.

Due to the economic standard in Nigeria today- housing that is affordable to the lowest income continues to shrink, the concentration of housing needs, among the poorest families continues to rise.

Affordable housing, however, is not only a compelling concern of the very poor. One needs not be poor at all to realize that housing costs are high, or that the housing choices open to people with low/moderate incomes are often limited at best.

Housing is one of the most basic human needs. The housing challenge facing Nigeria for instance is multifarious in dimension, ranging from a huge housing deficit due to imbalance between supply and demand, rapid urbanization, steady population growth, high cost of construction, paucity of housing finance, lack of affordable supply, with prohibitive financing available to developers- cost of building materials, planning/building regulations, lack of skills/capacity , poor state of infrastructure, under investment in low-income group to have decent housing accommodation.

Among all the evidence shown for the current huge housing deficit in Nigeria, estimated to be about 16 million units, lack of finance is no doubt a major factor.

WHY WE MUST BE CONCERNED OVER LOW INCOME HOUSING

For wealthier and even not so wealthy individuals, low income houses may hardly be a concern at all. Home owners may not think about those barely making ends meet. The problem of those without affordable housing may seem far away.

Socially, substandard housing contributes to childhood health problems like stunted growth, viral infections, asthma and other various health problems; and those sometimes lead to expensive hospitalizations. Again, poorly-housed children in those situations are significantly more likely to have behavioral problems.

Without low income housing, our communities may become uniformed and we may lose the opportunity to interact with people, who may be in different economic or cultural circumstances, to learn from them and to enjoy their company.

CREATING LOW INCOME HOUSES, HOW?

Affordable housing frequently means new homes are going to be built. So, while the affordable housing advocate may need to be excellent at human relations, that advocate may sometimes also need to have at least a passing familiarity with zoning, sewage systems, foundations, proper insulation, and the high cost of lumber.

Low income housing activities may need advocates to set the process In motion; developers to acquire the land; architects to design the homes; local governments to approve the plans; businesses to sell the building materials, construction workers to do the actual building; building inspectors to monitor the construction; agents to sell the homes; and buyers to buy them.

Understandably, the creation of actual low income housing units takes more than the efforts of a citizen or single group of citizens; it requires highly skilled coordination among many people.

Working together with other people, even a few others, will strengthen your effectiveness and sustain your own energy. Once you have connected with the right people, you and your group might consider advocating for specific local low income housing actions. Example: consult with housing experts to learn their opinions. Though, those opinions may not always be followed but they should generally be considered.

Put informal or formal pressure on developers and building owners anticipate and create home types that would keep rents of new housing affordable for the majority. While developers are entitled to fair profits for their work, profits should not be so high as to exclude all but the wealthier residents or wealthy newcomers, from living there. Support the creation of group homes and similar facilities in residential neighborhoods when they are appropriately sited. 

Finally, commitment to create low income housing should be in ample supply. When the commitment has been located and activated, and when it is joined with necessary funding, and in creative partnership, the prospects of ensuring affordable houses for all the people will be much brighter.

Would you and your family consider living in a low-cost home long term?

Egedi Oluwatoyin