Access and affordability. Developed countries

Housing affordability generally refers to paying a reasonable proportion of income for a place to live. While there is no uniform affordability rate across countries, the assumption is that a household should have sufficient resources left over after paying for housing to then pay for other basic goods and services including food, clothing, transportation, and health care. Affordability is a problem when the market does not produce quality housing that is priced low enough for families, often at lower income levels, to rent or purchase. Many countries provide assistance to make housing affordable. In more recent years, policy has shifted from directly providing affordable housing via social or public housing to relying more on the private market to build low-cost units or provide units that can be made affordable with government subsidy. Some argue, though, that government involvement in the market vis-a-vis regulation of land and production, as well as public subsidy and production, exacerbates rather than reduces the problem. Still, growing use of a human rights framework has seen many countries adapt policy that commits to making sure all have access to housing by either making it affordable or making sure people have sufficient income and economic opportunities to afford a place to live.