Affordable housing policy: implications and prospects for low-income communities in Indonesia

The inconsistency between Law No. 1 of 2011 on Housing and Settlement Areas and Law No. 23 of 2014 on Regional Government has led to challenges in managing housing and settlement affairs, particularly with the introduction of the Workers' Housing Savings Scheme. This policy mandates workers to contribute to a housing savings program to facilitate home ownership. However, housing and settlement issues are considered mandatory public services, as the state is responsible for fulfilling the basic needs of its citizens. This article employs a qualitative research methodology, utilizing literature studies and policy document analysis to examine the role of local governments in implementing affordable housing provisions within the central government's national housing program. The findings indicate that existing housing policies, particularly, have not effectively addressed the housing needs of workers, as the financial burden of regular contributions or salary deductions is significant. Although government housing programs are designed to support homeownership, they have become an additional financial burden rather than a viable solution. On the other hand, various government subsidy programs, such as the One Million Houses Program, have shown positive results in providing affordable housing. This collaborative initiative between the government and housing developers aims to accelerate housing construction, demonstrating a growing trend in addressing the housing backlog. The article concludes that optimizing existing government housing programs and policies is crucial for enhancing housing accessibility and alleviating the financial burden on low-income workers.

This thesis establishes new insights into the provision of affordable, operationally efficient rental housing in Australia, within the context of government-supported affordable rental housing schemes. A revision to the Australian ‘Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator’ (AHBA) model is proposed, which includes the integration of a green building mandate on affordable rental housing stock and the utilisation of sustainable financing pathways – notably green bonds. Linkages between the operational utility efficiency of rental housing, sustainable financing avenues, and outcomes for low- and middle-income households are investigated; furthermore, how ongoing operational utility efficiencies, achieved through green building principles, may be captured to improve the efficacy of government social support schemes as a system is examined. This research has implications for the Australian affordable housing sector. This thesis applies a mixed-methods approach to address and synthesise the following three concepts: 1) Green building principles as a demand-side subsidy to improve tenant outcomes within affordable housing policy. A case study is presented. 2) The application of green versus conventional housing bonds as a financing mechanism for affordable housing policy. A systematic literature review is undertaken to reveal plausible financing cost savings and ‘green premium’ determinants. 3) Lastly, an operational system dynamics model is developed to examine the outcomes of the AHBA in South East Queensland, and also to forecast the implications for integrating green building principles, including green bonds, against environmental, social, and economic outcomes. First, this research engages with a case study to investigate the financial value of green building principles within South East Queensland. Rising energy, water, and gas costs exert increasing financial pressure on low- and middle-income rental households, which are often subject to issues of split-incentives. The split-incentive problem concerns the lack of appropriate incentives for landlords to implement green building principles and associated utility efficiency measures. Little incentive exists for landlords to invest in operational utility efficiency upgrades to rental housing within existing Australian affordable housing policy. In addition, the financial implications of doing so are not well understood. This study therefore seeks to identify the financial value of green building principles over a 10-year rental tenancy. A multi-residential affordable housing development in Yeronga, Brisbane is analysed from the design stage; two scenarios are studied to determine the estimated household utility savings between a ‘Business as usual’ and ‘Green-certified’ case. Operational utility efficiencies, achieved through green building principles, are modelled to reduce total housing costs by 1.7–3.8% (an average approximate saving of AUD $5–18 per week) for one- and four-person low-income households, respectively. These savings are regarded as a demand-side subsidy that directly benefit tenants. The costs for implementing green certification are assessed, which are found to be marginal when compared with the longer-term operational cost savings of the improvements. The findings provide evidence to suggest that a case exists within public affordable housing policy to expand on the conceptual notion of ‘housing assistance’ from a direct discount to market rent approach (or cash subsidy) to one that includes a broader set of factors – such as operational utility efficiency. The study proposes that incentives provided under government-supported affordable housing policy offer an avenue for mediating split-incentive problems through an incentive structure that utilises a mix of demand- and supply-side subsidies to reduce housing stress for low- and middle-income households, and to promote the supply of affordable housing options. The implications of the study relate to innovative perceptions of affordable rental housing subsidies through green building practices. The second study employs a systematic literature review to investigate plausible debt financing benefits for affordable housing policy by engaging with the green bond market. The green bond market is emerging as an impactful financing mechanism towards climate change mitigation efforts. Studies have revealed the notion of a ‘green premium’ or ‘greenium’ within green bond pricing, including insights into influential characteristics and the drivers that govern it. However, methodological heterogeneity among these studies has resulted in general ambiguity regarding a consensus over the existence of the green premium. This research addresses this gap through a systematic literature review that aims to establish a consensus on the existence – or nonexistence – of a green premium in the green bond market. The review examines studies published between 2007 and 2020. A ranking of the green bond characteristics most likely to exhibit a green premium is organised, including a framework of driving factors. The findings confirm a consensus on the existence of a green premium within 56% of primary and 70% of secondary market studies, particularly for those green bonds that are government-issued, investment grade, and that follow defined green bond governance and reporting procedures. The green premium varies for the primary market; however, an average green premium of −1 to −9 basis points on the secondary market is observed. The study has implications for bond pricing theory by suggesting that future bond pricing should consider noneconomic motives of investors, such as environmental preferences. Furthermore, they suggest plausible financing benefits should future Australian affordable housing policy integrate a mandate for green building certification. This is particularly the case for the AHBA with regards to linkages between a large pool of green-certified housing assets and government-issued housing bonds. Lastly, the thesis organises the concepts of green building and sustainable financing into an operational system dynamics model. System dynamics is a method for analysing the dynamic complexity of social systems with a strong emphasis on computer simulation. Building on the aforementioned foundation studies, the model is framed around the recently introduced AHBA policy framework. Its purpose is to assess two policy scenarios: a business as usual and a green-building policy scenario. The latter establishes a mandate on green building standards within affordable rental housing together with the use of green versus conventional bonds. The impact on social, environmental, and economic outcomes of the framework over a 20-year horizon is assessed. The boundary of the model is within the South East Queensland metropolitan area of Australia. Overall, it is found that the green building framework will deliver 2.37% less housing due to higher initial capital costs. However, green affordable housing delivers substantial long-term energy and water efficiency benefits, improved affordability for tenants due to reduced utility costs, deferred water and energy infrastructure benefits, and considerable contributions towards Australia’s carbon emission reduction targets. Tenants are expected to benefit from a 45–59% reduction in energy and a 27% decrease in water bills. Moreover, a shift to affordable green building policy could contribute to 2.9% of Australia’s Conference of Parties 2030 carbon emissions reduction target if applied nationally. The thesis concludes with a sensitivity analysis, revealing policy refinement recommendations that would yield the benefits of green affordable housing without sacrificing the small reduction in housing stock delivered by the proposed program. It is determined that a green building grant provided to developers would mitigate the reduction in affordable housing supply, and at a net financial cost that is lower than the aggregated benefit. Overall, this research has implications for the future of Australian affordable housing policy through providing evidence to suggest that a focus on green building principles at a policy level may offer a broad base of economic, environmental, and social benefits, which are detailed in this thesis.

This paper is intended to evaluate housing guarantee policy reforms in China nowadays. Method of comparative analysis was employed based on evolution of affordable housing (AH) policy. This study revealed that stricter classified regulations had being carried out between affordable housing and marketable housing. The system deficiency which made impacts on AH policy's reputation and real effect has been gradually improved. By applying qualitative analysis and fuzzy assessment, the result indicate if no effective incentive regime and means of supervision were applied. The reform would be likely to lower general housing guarantee level except restraining corruptions and expanding security coverage to some extent. Therefore, a rethink is needed urgently on the current housing security policy reform in theory and in practice.

The affordable housing crisis in Ghana has prompted various governmental interventions and programmes. However, these initiatives have been subjected to intense scrutiny regarding their efficacy in delivering true affordability. This study explored the effectiveness of enhancing policy formulation in implementing affordable public housing in Ghana. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using a qualitative approach. The study employed a key informant purposive sampling approach targeting 15 respondents from public and private institutions and public sector workers’ unions in Ghana. The findings indicated that affordable housing policy development in Ghana was constrained by centralised decision-making, with some key stakeholders having minimal engagement in specific phases of policy development. Moreover, beneficiary involvement was limited. The study advocated for inclusive and informed decision-making processes to enhance the development and implementation of affordable public housing policies in Ghana. This approach ensures that affordable housing policies are theoretically sound and practical in meeting the housing needs of Ghana’s low- and middle-income public and civil service workers.

تعد مشکلة إسکان محدودي الدخل بمصر بمثابة أزمة مستحکمة لهذه الفئة، حيث أنها ليست الفجوة بين العرض والطلب من المساکن فقط، ولکنها في الأساس مشکلة الاختلال في نوعيات المعروض والمطلوب من الوحدات السکنية وما يتناسب منها مع احتياجات وإمکانيات فئات الدخل المحدود. فمشکلة الإسکان في مصر هي نتيجة مجموعة متعاقبة من الأوضاع الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية التي عاشتها مصر خلال القرن العشرين، ولذلک فقد أعطتها الدولة حيز کبيرا من اهتمامها في صورة مجموعة من برامج ومشروعات الإسکان المدعم المعني بفئة محدودي الدخل منذ خمسينيات القرن الماضي وحتى الآن (2018). وقد تغيرت مسميات تلک البرامج والمشروعات ما بين إسکان شعبي، وإسکان اقتصادي، وإسکان الشباب والمستقبل، والبرنامج القومي للإسکان وصولا إلى برنامج الإسکان الاجتماعي ولکن يظل التساؤل حول مدى نجاح سياسة بناء الإسکان المدعم فى رفع المعاناة عن کاهل الأسر الفقيرة في حيازة مسکن ملائم وآمن وصحي. ومن هنا تأتي تلک المحاولة البحثية لتحليل هذه السياسة من خلال تقييم برامج ومشروعات الحکومة السابقة والمطروحة حاليا ومدى مراعاة الأخيرة لمشاکل وسلبيات المحاولات السابقة، وذلک بهدف الوصول إلى توصيات لرسم رؤية أکثر شمولية وذات کفاءة في توفير المسکن الملائم وتفعيل البرامج الحالية للإسکان في مصر. وتنقسم الدراسة إلى ثلاثة أجزاء تمثل تطور لسياسات وبرامج ومشروعات الإسکان المقترحة في المدن الجديدة في مصر في محاولة للوصول إلى مستقبل سياسات الإسکان في مصر. يتناول الجزء الأول عرض للمحاولات السابقة لبرامج ومشروعات الإسکان المطروحة لمحدودي الدخل بالمدن الجديدة في مصر في الفترة ما بين 1990 حتى 2009 وتطورها، مع رصد أهم سلبيات وايجابيات کل منها. والجزء الثاني يتطرق إلى برنامج الإسکان الاجتماعي وتحليل ما إذا کان نهج جديد للتغلب على المشکلة أم استمرار للسياسات والبرامج السابقة. ويخلص البحث في الجزء الثالث إلي طرح رؤية لتفعيل برامج ومشروعات إسکان محدودي الدخل، وتوصيات نحو سياسة عادلة للإسکان في مصر تم بلورتها بناءا على ما تم إظهاره من سلبيات سياسة الإسکان الراهنة في الجزئيين الأول والثاني. The low-income housing problem in Egypt denotes a serious crisis for this group, as it is not only the gap between housing supply and demand, but mainly the imbalance between the quality of supply and demand of housing units on one hand, and the needs and potentialities of low income groups on the other. This problem is the result of a succession of economic, social and political conditions that Egypt experienced during the 20th century. The government has hereby given it considerable attention expressed in a series of subsidized housing programs and projects since the 1950s until now (2018). Their titles have developed from public housing to economic housing, then youth and future housing, then the National Housing Program, and finally the Social Housing Program. However, the effectiveness of the subsidized housing construction policy in alleviating the burden on poor households in acquiring adequate, safe and healthy housing is still questionable. Hence, this research is an attempt to analyze this policy through an evaluation for both previous and ongoing government programs and projects, and the extent to which the latter are taking into account the problems and disadvantages of the previous efforts, in an attempt to reach principles for outlining a more comprehensive and efficient vision for providing adequate housing, and triggering current housing programs in Egypt. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part introduces and analyzes the housing programs and projects offered to low-income residents in Egyptian new cities between 1990 and 2009, delineating positive and negative aspects of each. The second part is an analysis for the ongoing social housing program; whether it is a new approach to overcoming the problem or a continuation for past policies and programs. Based on this evaluation, the third part of the paper introduces a vision to activate low income housing programs and projects, and recommendations towards an impartial housing policy in Egypt.

This paper examines the recent growth of government-led affordable housing in Guangzhou, addressing a paucity of global housing studies that explore experimental and contextual policy approaches in China. It also addresses the lack of Chinese housing studies recognizing the impact of housing design governance, including regulatory controls and design standards, on housing preferences, supply and lifestyles. Since 1995, the supply of affordable housing has surged, now surpassing that of market housing for the first time. This response to failures in the private housing market and a lack of equitable access to housing signifies a significant shift, acknowledging the need to re-establish a state-led and long-term public housing supply after decades of housing marketization. Employing an architectural design research perspective, this paper investigates the interplay between affordable housing supply and the emergence of housing standards, examining resulting housing design outcomes. It poses the question: What changes in housing policy and interventions in housing markets are necessary to increase public rental housing supply, and how do these changes affect housing outcomes? The paper explores these questions through a discussion of the key moments in affordable housing policy and housing estate development in Guangzhou that facilitated the creation of widely accessible public housing and long-term housing assets. This provides new insights into China’s unique approach to translating central government social welfare and housing policy through contextual design experimentation and pilot housing projects, departing from the conventional top-down policy implementation found in most other countries.

Federal leadership and funding for affordable housing policy declined in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the commitment to low-income housing continues to wane and is accompanied by funding uncertainties as the federal government redefines its role as policy-maker. The federal withdrawal leaves a void in housing policy-making as yet unfilled by lower levels of government. Given the direct impact of housing availability and conditions on local communities, cities may be the most likely candidates to assume the primary role in affordable housing policy. Some policy analysts, however, argue that cities will not assume the lead role or spend local dollars on redistributive policy such as affordable housing programmes. This paper examines affordable housing policy in the inter-governmental context, the influence of inter-governmental factors on local housing commitment, and the potential for cities to fill the gap left by the federal government. The analysis uses US Census data combined with data from a mail survey of city housing professionals in a representative sample of US cities with populations of 25 000 or greater. The findings from the analysis show that many cities do spend local dollars on housing programmes, but that the decision to do so is influenced by inter-governmentalfactors. Moreover, the results suggest that states, not cities, are likely to assume the leadership role for affordable housing policy in the future.

This paper evaluates the low-cost housing program in Jos, Nigeria and the challenges faced by the government in meeting its stated targets. The purposive random sampling has been employed to select the local government areas that have the Low-cost housing in Jos Metropolis. Utilising secondary data based on the 2006 National population census data, National Housing Policy (NHP), National Housing Fund (NHF) and the Land Use Act, of 1978 the study will analyse the quantity of housing delivered by each local government. The result of the data analysis shows that the housing policy and program has not met the stated goals. As the policies and programs of government administrations did not satisfy the quest of the average Nigerian for housing due to lack of political will, the study recommends measures that would reduce the challenges and the way forward to ensure sustainable and affordable housing in Jos, plateau state.

Global economic restructuring since the 1970s, and the rollback of the welfare state in the Global North has been a major contributor to a reduction in the affordable housing stock. Similarly in the so-called Global South recent economic development has been accompanied by a lack of sustainable affordable housing and housing policies. In this short paper, I aim to analyse important policy papers from the central government of Turkey and local government of Istanbul focusing on the housing policies. I will use content and policy analysis to examine the legal and policy framework in the city of Istanbul and compare this with what is happening on the ground. These policy papers include Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Strategical Plan (2020–2024), Turkey 11th 5 year Development Plan Housing Politics (2019–2023), Urban Development Strategy (2010–2023) and Istanbul Regional Plan (2014–2023).

In the first 20 years of the 21st century, the social housing policy in Poland underwent many changes. They resulted from the lack of consistency in this respect and low patience of the ruling parties, which led to profound modifications in the approach to the housing policy practically with every new government. Until the implementation of the National Housing Programme (NHP), the housing policy in Poland was characterised by fragmented solutions, without any comprehensive approach to the issue in question. The aim of the article is to verify the effectiveness of the NHP, especially in terms of its social part, i.e., Mieszkanie Plus [Apartment Plus] package. The programme was described using the framework of theoretical assumptions of the social housing policy and the implementation of this policy in Poland after the year 2000. The author claims that the NHP is the first housing policy in Poland which applies a holistic approach and moves away from the practice of short-term, fragmented solutions. He recommends that those who are in power should exercise patience and refrain from introducing alterations after a very short period from the point of view of investment processes, as the implementation of such a complex housing policy as the NHP is planned for many years.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the factors affecting the implementation of affordable housing policies in two Chinese municipal governments. Since 2010, the Chinese government has enforced an ambitious plan to adopt affordable housing provisions accompanying a series of urbanization programs. Furthermore, the policy implementation at the local level has led to various outcomes but has been scarcely investigated. The views of policy implementation from local officials are crucial in the context of intergovernmental relations. Therefore, it is important to examine the views of local public officials on the development status and challenges in the context of Chinese intergovernmental relations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper verifies which factors exert significant impacts on the willingness of local officials to adapt affordable housing policies by using the logistic regression model and marginal effect estimation. With original data from the fieldwork surveys of city administrators, the measures incorporated local characteristics as well as the intergovernmental support from the central government in two selected megacities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.FindingsThere are significant differences in local investment between the selected cities. Intergovernmental support from the central government, city development strategies, implementation perceptions of local governments and land supply, all significantly impact the selection of an affordable housing program and its overall implementation.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ understanding, this study would be one of the first to empirically explore the view of municipal public officials on affordable housing policy in China. This paper provides an empirical analysis from municipal public officials on the local implementation of affordable housing policies in China. As the outcome of housing policies actually depends on the implementation willingness of public officials and the overall performance of local governments, this explorative study would benefit the future development of China’s affordable housing policy.

Many affordable housing policies are the domain of local governments. While subnational housing policies can be used to increase racial and economic segregation, they can also protect renters, and thus are not without controversy. Local affordable housing policies include inclusionary zoning, rent control, short-term rental regulation and source of income discrimination. Starting in the 1980s, states began to preempt these local laws, preventing their cities from adopting affordable housing policies. We ask why states choose to preempt one or more of these four affordable housing policies. Using a cross-sectional, time-series dataset of preemptions, we find evidence that more conservative legislatures are more likely to adopt preemptions, while more professional legislatures and states with higher rental rates and previous preemptions are less likely to preempt. Contrary to expectations, interest group density, electoral competition and policy diffusion are not significant predictors of preemption. For advocates and policymakers concerned with increasing affordable housing in their jurisdictions, these results raise unease about the ability to further an affordable housing agenda at the local level, particularly in more conservative political environments, suggesting instead that affordable housing may need to return to the purview of the federal government.

To investigate economic elites’ housing policy preferences and test the attitudinal, contextual, political, and economic conditions that drive support for affordable housing policies, focusing on the influence of a housing-health belief mechanism. Using proprietary 2015–2016 national data, we apply multivariate regression analysis and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to demonstrate the potential impact of a particular framing strategy—the housing-health belief mechanism—on economic elites’ housing policy preferences. First, the results from both methods suggest the utility of promoting belief in the interconnection between housing affordability and health, which significantly increases economic elite support and functions alongside other conditions to support housing affordability strategies. Second, support for wage-based policies is better explained than development-based policies, suggesting different policy preferences among economic elites. Third, regardless of other beliefs about equality or rights, belief that housing affordability is linked to health significantly increases affordable housing policy support. Fourth, geographic proximity to housing crisis alone does not create support for housing policies. Framing housing affordability as a fundamental contributor to health may be central to overcoming opposition and help offer economic elites new ways of thinking about the societal impacts of housing affordability and increase policy support.

Faulty Conclusions Built on Shoddy Foundations

In recent years, there has been a burgeoning discourse surrounding the influence of neoliberalism on housing policy, governance, and affordability. The evolution of housing policies has coincided with the global ascent of neoliberal principles. The ideological underpinnings of neoliberalism, characterized by a focus on private property rights, unrestricted flow of capital, reliance on self-regulation in free markets, and the process of deregulation, exert a substantial impact on the trajectories of housing policies and urban governance in numerous countries. This article conducts a comprehensive review of the existing literature on housing policy and neoliberalism, adhering to the PRISMA guidelines and systematic review statements, utilizing 'housing policy and neoliberalism' as keywords. The objective of this study is to identify prevalent research themes within the realm of affordable housing and neoliberalism. The primary themes influencing affordable housing policy, as indicated by the results, encompass privatization, deregulation, and privatization once more. Subthemes within this context include the privatization of public housing, the elimination of zoning restrictions or the adoption of inclusionary zoning, and the adoption of a market-driven approach. The outcomes of this study aim to streamline existing research, offering valuable insights for future research endeavors and aiding relevant stakeholders in formulating effective affordable housing policies and enhancing the governance of housing delivery mechanisms.