Public housing
Public housing, also known as social housing, is subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof. The details, terminology, definitions of poverty, and other criteria for allocation may vary within different contexts, but the right to rent such a home is generally rationed through some form of means-testing or through administrative measures of housing needs. One can regard social housing as a potential remedy for housing inequality. Within the OECD, social housing represents an average of 7% of national housing stock, ranging from ~34% in the Netherlands to less than 1% in Colombia.
In the United States and Canada, public housing developments are classified as housing projects that are owned by a housing authority or a low-income property. PBV are a component of a public housing agency. PBVs, administered by state and local housing agencies, are distinct from Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, a program through which property owners' contract directly with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to rent units to families with low incomes.
Affordable housing goals can also be achieved through subsidies. Subsidized housing is owned and operated by private owners who receive subsidies in exchange for providing affordable housing. Owners may be individual landlords or for-profit or nonprofit corporations.
History
Social housing had existed sporadically prior to modern developments. The oldest still in use is the 16th-century Fuggerei in Augsburg, Bavaria.The origins of modern municipal housing lie in the dramatic urban population increase caused by the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. In the large cities of the period, many social commentators, such as Octavia Hill and Charles Booth reported on the squalor, sickness and immorality that arose. Henry Mayhew, visiting Bethnal Green, wrote in The Morning Chronicle:
Some philanthropists began to provide housing in tenement blocks, and some factory owners built entire villages for their workers, such as Saltaire in 1853 and Port Sunlight in 1888. It was in 1885, after the report from a royal commission in England, that the state first took an interest. This led to the Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1885, which empowered Local Government Boards to shut down unhealthy properties and encouraged them to improve the housing in their areas.
The City of London Corporation built tenements in the Farringdon Road in 1865. The world's first large-scale housing project was built in London to replace one of the capital's most notorious slums – the Old Nichol. Nearly 6,000 individuals were crammed into the packed streets, where one child in four died before his or her first birthday. Arthur Morrison wrote the influential A Child of the Jago, an account of the life of a child in the slum, which sparked a public outcry. Construction of the Boundary Estate was begun in 1890 by the Metropolitan Board of Works and completed by the then-recently formed London County Council in 1900.
The success of this project spurred many local councils to embark on similar construction schemes in the early 20th century. The Arts and Crafts movement and Ebenezer Howard's garden city ideas led to the leafy London County Council cottage estates such as firstly Totterdown Fields and later Wormholt and Old Oak. The First World War indirectly provided a new impetus, when the poor physical health and condition of many urban recruits to the British Army was noted with alarm. In 1916, 41% of conscripts were unfit to serve. This led to a campaign known as Homes fit for heroes and in 1919 the Government first compelled councils to provide housing, helping them to do so through the provision of subsidies, under the Housing Act 1919. Public housing projects were tried out in some European countries and the United States in the 1930s, but only became widespread globally after the Second World War.
Africa
South Africa
South Africa has a significant amount of public housing, and the country's social democratic government, majority run by the African National Congress, continues to build more, in an effort to ensure that all residents have adequate housing.Constitutionally-enshrined right to housing
The Constitution of South Africa recognizes the right to housing, and states that access to adequate housing is a basic human right.The Constitution further states that the Government of South Africa is obligated to take reasonable steps, in the context of its available resources, to progressively achieve this right. This includes, through reasonable legislative and other measures, the implementation of housing programs and policies.
Current state of housing access
Social housing in South Africa falls under the mandate of the Department of Human Settlements, which is headed by the government's Minister of Human Settlements, and had over 500 employees. The Department had a 2024/2025 fiscal year budget of R33.6 billion.What constitutes adequate housing is outlined in the Housing Act 107 of 1997, the BNG 2004 policy, and the National Housing Code 2009, which provide for the facilitation of a sustainable housing development process. The NHC specifies the minimum size of houses as 40 square meters of floor area with 2 bedrooms; a separate bathroom with a toilet, a shower and a hand basin; a combined living area and kitchen space with a wash basin; and an electrical installation, where electricity supply is available.
The DHS' Master Spatial Plan is aimed at achieving a creative balance between spatial equity, economic competitiveness, and environmental sustainability to overcome the legacy of apartheid. The MSP states that all spatial development programs should incorporate spatial justice ; spatial sustainability ; spatial resilience ; spatial quality ; spatial efficiency ; and good administration under the guidance of Spatial Planning and Land use Management Act.
Anyone in South Africa over the age of 21, with a household income not exceeding R3,500 per month, can apply for social housing, provided they do not already own a home under a separate scheme. Only one government-provided home per applicant is allowable. Married persons, as well as single parents with dependents, can apply together. Applications can be submitted at the Housing Office of the resident's local municipality. Generally, homes received from the government may not be sold within the first 8 years of ownership.
For qualifying poor or low-income households, the government of South Africa also provides subsidized waste management and sanitation services, as well as 6 kl of free water, and 50 kwh of free electricity, per household, per month.
As of 2022, approximately 29.9% of South Africans resided in social housing.
The country has made significant progress in the provision of housing. The number of official households doubled between 1996 and 2022. The number of formal dwellings increased from 65.1% to 88.5% over the same period.
In the same period, the number of people living in an informal dwelling decreased from 16.2% to 8.1%, and the number of people living in traditional dwellings decreased from 18.3% to 3.1% - a marked improvement. Access to electricity at home also improved considerably, rising from 58.1% in 1996 to 94.7% in 2022. These data from Statistics South Africa, obtained from census research, show the positive results of the South African government's efforts towards housing access across the country.
Historical provision of housing
During the apartheid period in South Africa, spanning around 40 years, the national government at the time was run by the right-wing, conservative, Afrikaner nationalist National Party. The party intentionally only worked to ensure adequate housing for white people. As was the case in all facets of life, people of color were not afforded the protections that white people were, nor did they benefit in the same way from government funding.This resulted in a severe lack of safe, quality housing for non-white residents in South Africa. That is an issue which persists into the present day, due to generational privilege, and those from previously disadvantaged communities still having to wait for adequate housing, as part of a backlog of applicants that South Africa's national, provincial, and municipal governments are continuously attending to.
Apartheid featured high poverty rates amongst black South Africans, due to racial segregation and discrimination, and this was intrinsically connected to housing, in that adequate housing is known to provide a foundation for improving one's life through having additional security, becoming educated, and seeking employment.
The post-apartheid government has sought to build social housing with a focus on those living in poverty, and those with low incomes. This focus has been placed on building homes in urban areas, with higher levels of economic opportunity as compared to rural areas, where people of color were forcibly placed after being removed from existing housing, as part of racial segregation measures.
The Reconstruction and Development Program, as well as the Breaking New Ground program, provided over 3.5 million new homes during the period 1995 through 2020, but they did not fully meet demand, and some houses were built away from urban areas. The housing shortage was estimated to be 3.7 million units in 2021. The Department of Human Settlements, which facilitates national housing development, has sought to transition from a housing-focused development model to a holistic view, including services.