Affordable Housing Shortages: A Growing Global Crisis
Affordable housing shortages in the world has become a great challenge to the whole globe. According to the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, 1.6 billion people-now one-fifth of the world’s population-who now lack access to decent shelter and essential services, would increase this number to 3 billion by 2030.
While housing prices are growing faster than income growth across most countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over the last ten years, the multifaceted crisis characterised by a shortage of housing units – for low- and middle-income earners alike and applying to natives and immigrants alike – cuts across natives and immigrants.
In the face of escalating displacement, lack of access to housing is becoming a major constraint to the integration opportunities of migrants. While the very spirit of welcome seems undermined and even to fuel anti-immigrant sentiment because of competition between native populations and newcomers, this lead is telling.
Affordable Housing Shortages: A Crisis for Forcibly Displaced Individuals
Affordable housing shortages
As of October 2023, nearly 110 million people worldwide were either internally or externally displaced. While the shortage of housing is most pressing in those high-income countries, more than three-quarters of those in need of international protection live in low- and middle-income countries close to their country of origin -where decent housing is also scarce there.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as of 2022, a majority of the refugees, asylum seekers, and returnees in most countries were not accessing habitable and affordable housing. In Burundi, where about 80,000 refugees and asylum seekers live, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, only 7 percent had access to habitable and affordable housing.
Affordable Housing Shortages: A Human Rights Concern 
Affordable housing shortage is defined as a basic human right and an integral part of the right to an adequate standard of living by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
But it is those that are forced or seeking work who are far more likely to have their right to adequate shelter denied. The uprooted person is also likely to be stigmatized, marginalized, and suffer various forms of xenophobia from the host community, and therefore cannot easily be considered for accommodation or is been overcharged.
Whereas refugees and other migrants mostly may misunderstand or lack any cognizance of rights against housing providers, which would complicate the situation as well as exclusion from the adequate shelter.
This article continues discussing how housing crises affect refugees, forced migrants, and other categories of movements, especially their relationships in host countries.
Whereas an influx of new people into a city may increase its housing deficit, it is of importance to appreciate that most housing-related problems are part of larger, more long-standing problems.
However, this creates an issue between the host community and the vulnerable newcomers, as the latter are perceived to be the culprits behind the shortage of affordable housing.
What Factors Are Contributing to the Crisis?
Institutional investors have bought millions of homes and apartment buildings in the US and taken them out of the market of individual buyers. Companies acquired more than 13% of all residential purchases in 2021. This follows a struggling recovery from a steep construction decline during the Great Recession of 2007-09, while higher interest rates are bringing building costs even higher.
Immigrants, by and large, increase local economies and appreciate home values within neighborhoods, despite pricey housing. As revealed by research by Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the Partnership for a New American Economy, from 1970 through 2010, “immigrants in the United States created $3.7 trillion in housing wealth and revitalized neighborhoods that otherwise might have become associated with decay without inflating the affordability crisis.”.housing shortage crisis is driven by a multitude of factors. One significant issue is that the supply of homes has not kept pace with population growth, particularly in increasingly crowded urban areas.
Globally, the population has surged from 7 billion in 2011 to over 8 billion today. For instance, the population of Latin America and the Caribbean was approximately 394 million in 2000, but it is projected to reach 609 million by 2030. Much of this growth will occur in urban regions, where housing availability is already under pressure.
The challenges in this region are long-standing; the housing deficit increased from 38 million in 1990 to 52 million in 2000, as reported by Habitat for Humanity. Furthermore, many individuals who do have housing still lack access to essential services like water and sanitation, preventing their homes from being classified as adequate and safe.
Affordability housing shortage is one of the major high-demand issues driving the housing crisis, but other factors still include a shortage of houses supplied to the market in proportion to population growth, especially in urban areas where people have been growing more densely.
The population across the world has increased from 7 billion in 2011 to over 8 billion now. For example, while Latin America and the Caribbean had about 394 million people in the year 2000, it is estimated to be around 609 million by 2030. Much of the rise in population will occur in urban centers, where housing is already in demand.
These problems have been around for thousands of years. Habitat for Humanity documented the housing deficit to expand from 38 million in 1990 to 52 million in the year 2000. In addition, many more who already have housing lack access to water and sanitation services, thus their homes do not qualify them for being adequate and safe.
Diverse Contexts, Shared Challenge
Affordable housing shortages are perhaps one of the most obvious examples where housing crises affect refugees in Europe. Housing shortages have worsened with the inflow of 7.8 million Ukrainians following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Shortages of affordable housing have caused many Ukrainian women and children, the overwhelming majority of those displaced, to seek hospitality at first in private households and reception centers. It has proved particularly challenging to transition from these temporary solutions to stable housing.
Affordable housing shortages have resulted in the loss of thousands of Ukrainians, in the last two years, even for a short period, to homelessness. Solidarity fatigue with host communs also manifested themselves in other ways by leading to discrimination and attacks on some of the newcomers.
Affordable housing shortages also fuel the issue in Russia where 1.2 million Ukrainians have fled; the government has to give housing vouchers to some migrants who are actually contributing to price increases and frustration among local residents.
Despite an increase in border arrival conditions that have made matters worse, affordability housing shortages are visible in many U.S. cities. Even New York City, considered one of the most competitive cities of all time, has seen affordable housing shortages push median rents to a record $3,795 as of mid-2023. Only 1.4 percent of rental housing is currently available.
Affordable housing shortages have sent homeless shelter rolls doubling since spring 2022, reaching more than 92,800 in November, mainly because of over 175,000 asylum seekers from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Affordable housing shortages overwhelm shelter system, leaving many migrants to sleep on streets, in subways; Mayor Eric Adams declares existential crisis with fiscal impacts.
Affordable housing shortages are adding to the problem because the city’s right-to-shelter policy forces the government to open its doors. The city said last month it would cap how long those new arrivals have to stay: 30 days for single people and 60 days for families.
Affordable housing shortages mean that though the migrants can apply for shelter, they spend many days in a queue, almost homeless. The city is providing free one-way tickets to other destinations as a gesture of kindness.
Affordable housing shortages, the other is holding up increased refugee admissions under the formal U.S. resettlement system for the Biden administration. After record low resettlement numbers in recent years and under the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration sought to resettle 125,000 refugees per year from FY 2022 to FY 2024, though actual numbers far short of that goal so far.
Affordable housing shortages have put organizations working alongside the US resettlement system in a precarious position: to grow in capacity to support new arrivals. Although NGOs supportive of improved resettlement exist, these also call for adequate staff and resources to find and offer housing.
The U.S. resettlement system has Federal and local funds committed to refugees arriving in the country with little appreciation for increases in the cost of housing which leaves open the gap with affordable housing shortages.
Affordable Housing Shortage
A lack of credit history, refugees’ dependence on federal funding and the presence of income prerequisites or absence of standardized rental papers make some landlords unwilling to lease to refugees.
The influx of nearly 2.9 million displaced Venezuelans has exacerbated affordable housing shortages in Colombia. Many face discrimination and pay above-market rents, ending up in unsafe living conditions. The country faces a housing deficit affecting around 3.7 million households, which is approximately a quarter of its population.
This lack of affordable housing has sparked tensions with overseas buyers, who buy housing stock frequently at the expense of driving locals out. Portugal, one of the countries that boast Western Europe’s lowest average incomes, is attracting high-net-worth foreign nationals through golden visas.
Foreign investment has also exacerbated the situation of shortages in cheap housing since those willing to spend at least 280,000 euros (approximately U.S. $305,000) can earn a five-year visa and citizenship. Their demand has pushed up housing prices, and the authorities responded by closing the scheme in 2023, even though other ways of investing in obtaining residency remain open.
Housing Solutions
Affordable housing ‘s shortfalls are inspiring innovative initiatives to address the global housing crisis, particularly for migrants and displaced persons. One example is the UK’s Housing First program from the 1990s, designed to quickly house vulnerable populations, including newcomers.
This led the Welsh government to launch the Nation of Sanctuary initiative in 2019, which aims to reduce inequalities and provide sustainable accommodation through partnerships with landlords and funding for refugee housing.
Affordable housing shortages also prompted the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme after Russia’s invasion in 2022, allowing residents to privately sponsor Ukrainians in need. Despite criticisms about support and responsibilities, the program represents a creative solution to urgent housing needs.
Affordable housing shortages have prompted CWS to receive funding from the United States federal government to provide technical assistance in building capacity for innovative housing solutions under the Refugee Housing Solutions initiative. Its objective includes increasing access to better quality affordable housing for refugees and other immigrants in the United States, launched in 2022.
Affordable housing shortages have led CWS to partner with all ten voluntary agencies participating in the U.S. resettlement program, as well as other eligible service providers. Additionally, affordable housing shortages will be addressed through innovations in technology, such as a multilingual cell phone application to assist landlords, property managers, and tenants in navigating the housing environment.
In Australia, significant accommodation challenges have compelled service providers to remain in the rural and nonconventional regions, which could possibly offer cheaper homes for the new comers. Organizations are also partnering with refugees to form cooperatives and shared housing.
UN-Habitat projects that by 2030, there will be a global demand for 96,000 housing units daily to cater to an estimated 3 billion people in need. Unless policy solutions emerge urgently in construction, the housing crisis may exacerbate tensions between host communities and newcomers.
With creative approaches in accommodating newcomers, the trajectory of housing insecurity may take a new turn towards greater sustainability. Involving all players in the processes of collaboration will foster a sense of belonging to refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced people so that they can feel at home despite being torn away from their familiar places.
Citations
Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA). 2013. “Immigrants Enhance U.S. Economic Vitality via the Housing Market.” June 20, 2013.Available online
Bram, Jason, Jonathan Siegel, Celeste Hornbach, Stephen Corson, and Astha Dutta. 2024. “Spotlight: The Housing Supply Challenge in New York City.” Office of the NYC Comptroller, February 13, 2024 Available online
Coalition for the Homeless. 2024. “Homelessness in New York City: January 2024 Update, Chart 1.” Updated January 2024 Available online
N.d. “Migration and Housing Rights.” Accessed March 8, 2024.Available online
“The Human Right to Adequate Housing.” Accessed March 8, 2024. Available online
Siegel, Jonathan, Jason Bram, and Astha Dutta. 2024. “Spotlight: The Rental Housing Market in New York City.” Office of the NYC Comptroller, January 17, 2024. Available online
