Criteria for sustainable housing affordability

Abstract

The affordability of housing is a pressing problem that not only affects individual households but also has implications for the wider economy and environment, e.g. employment, health and sustainability. Thus it is evident that providing affordable housing is not simply about cheap and decent homes, it entails having regard for a broad range of factors. Housing affordability is traditionally defined and assessed in terms of economic criteria; namely housing costs in relation to incomes. Areas are therefore often regarded as affordable simply because they are low cost. However this indicates nothing about the quality of the housing or the environment in which the housing is situated. An integral part of the research is the theory that affordability is not only affected by housing costs and incomes, but by a wider range of criteria that also influence a household’s quality of life. It is the view of the authors that housing affordability must be evaluated in a wider context if more sustainable outcomes are to be derived from housing policy. In a bid to create more successful communities for the future the paper seeks draw closer links between affordability and sustainability issues, rather than viewing affordability as a purely monetary concern. The research aims to develop a criteria system that represents sustainable housing affordability. The paper presents findings from questionnaire surveys, distributed to housing and planning professionals, which sought to verify and prioritise the criteria that are important to sustainable housing affordability.