In
the wealthiest country on the planet, too many
people still lack access to housing.
The
pandemic revealed the full extent of the U.S.
housing crisis. Where were the roughly 580,000
people living
unhoused in 2020 to go under “stay at home”
orders? And what about those facing eviction?
At
the same time, the pandemic proved that
federal intervention could ease the crisis.
Eviction moratoria and unemployment relief
helped keep more people housed, fed, and
secure. But these initiatives ended too
quickly.
Lifting
federal pandemic eviction protections in 2021
put as many as 17
million people at
risk of becoming unhoused. And last year, the
number of unsheltered
individuals increased
by 3.4
percent from
2020 — and many times that in some areas.
There’s
a misconception that homelessness is primarily
caused by addiction and mental illness. But a
new study in
California — where over
171,000 people experience
homelessness every day — found that poverty
and high housing costs are the driving forces.
The
median monthly income for people who became
homeless was just $960, the University of
California, San Francisco (UCSF) report found.
Prior evictions, poor credit history, and
systemic discrimination further prevent people
from re-entering housing — and even shorten
their life
expectancy.
These
are national problems. Nearly
half of
all tenants now spend 30 percent
or
more of their income on rent, which
has
risen 18
percent nationally
over the
past
five years.
Housing
is fundamental to every person’s life, health,
and security. We need to recognize it as a
human right and transform our country’s
approach. While this may sound lofty, it’s not
as far-fetched as it seems.
International
law already treats housing as a human right.
The
1966 International
Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights codified
housing as essential to human dignity and an
adequate standard of living. The covenant
doesn’t guarantee that everyone will have
access to housing immediately, but it
does obligate countries
to work progressively toward that goal.
The
U.S. signed this binding treaty but never
joined with 171 countries in ratifying it.
Still, the “right to housing” movement is
deeply rooted here. In 1944, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt urged Congress
to adopt a second Bill of Rights focused on
economic rights, including housing.
The
movement has regained momentum since the
pandemic. The “Housing is a Human Right Act of
2023” introduced in Congress this past March
would provide over
$300 billion for housing infrastructure and
combating homelessness. And California could become
the first state to legally recognize a right
to housing.
Critics
often invoke the high cost of building
affordable housing. But during a time of extreme
wealth inequality,
as Institute for Policy Studies expert Chuck
Collins has argued,
the problem isn’t supply — it’s who owns that
supply.
Large
corporations and private equity firms like
Blackstone have been buying millions
of units, including single-family homes,
driving up both rents and home prices. Other
investors have converted units into short-term
rentals,
which removes them from the market and drives
rents higher for everyone else.
Reforms
like rent control and a
temporary prohibitio of
eviction
can help, but ultimately we need local home
ownership and
permanently affordable rental housing. Housing
should belong to families, nonprofit groups,
and community housing authorities — not Wall
Street banks and real estate speculators. A
right to housing could help rein in
third-party profiteers and hold governments
accountable for housing failures.
Housing is more than
a roof over our
heads. It determines
our ability to stay
healthy, get an
education, build wealth,
and live longer. It
is not merely a luxury
commodity limited to
those who can
afford it. It is a
right — and our
government should
start recognizing and
treating it as such.
