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AFFORDABLE HOUSING A Libertarian Outlook by Gerald Schneider, Ph.D. With housing costs so high, I am reminded of the need for affordable housing, especially for the poor. What we lack are public policies that provide affordable but sound shelter in honest and competent ways. Government money and oversight are not the answer. Government housing programs, in fact, are unfair, inept, and counterproductive. They reward government bureaucrats with high- salaried jobs taken from tax revenues intended for the needy, not the greedy. But not nearly enough of that money filters down to the poor to solve their housing dilemma. What can be done? Some suggestions follow: Get Government Out of Housing Phase out all government-owned housing, giving title to apartments and buildings to tenants. Allow tenants to arrange whatever ownership pattern they want (condominium, cooperative, etc.). Alert nonprofit and other private organizations that counsel tenants on ownership about the phase-out. Dissolve the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at the same time. Ditto for local government housing agencies. Those expensive government bureaucracies, of doubtful value to begin with, would no longer be necessary. Millions of dollars would be saved! Establish Individual Ownership Assure "squatters" living in abandoned buildings that government authorities will not toss them out just for living there. This assurance of a "home" might even encourage squatters to upgrade their living quarters through "sweat equity." Self- pride of "ownership," even if temporary, could give new incentives to squatters to improve their lives, too. Permanent ownership by serious, long-term squatters on genuinely abandoned or government-owned vacated property should be allowed. Programs of urban and rural "homesteading" could be renewed and expanded. Relax Apartment Regulations Laws that restrict or restrain homeowners from creating apartments in underused single-family houses should be relaxed. Such apartments could be provided quickly at low cost in contrast to the time and expense for new construction. And apartments added in that manner require no new infrastructure of streets, sewers, and public amenities. Also, the extra income from secondary apartments in single- family houses could help needy homeowners become financially independent. The elderly, for example, may live in houses larger than they need because their children are gone. While the houses may be mortgage free, the burden of government taxes can be unbearable. Rental money from secondary apartments in their houses can make the difference. Properly enforced nuisance and negligence laws would resolve neighborhood problems, if any, that secondary apartments in single-family houses cause. Government licensing and approval laws for these secondary apartments only frighten people away from creating them. More boarding houses should be allowed by local government authorities. There is nothing wrong with people who have their own bedrooms sharing a bathroom and kitchen. Costs for such units would be relatively low, and, while this arrangement is not for everyone, it would be better than many street alternatives. Eliminate Zoning Obstacles Finally, zoning laws and building codes that make new housing needlessly costly should be ended. This includes politically determined land-use density and building height rules. Government should not stifle innovation for low-cost housing through enforcement of outmoded and rigid construction standards. Reprinted from THE WHEATON NEWS of Wheaton, Maryland, Nov. 25, 1987. For a one year subscription to Mr. Schneider's biweekly "Libertarian Outlook" column, send $15 to: Gerald Schneider, 8750 Georgia Ave., Suite 1410-B, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Copyright 1987 Gerald Schneider, Ph.D. (This is the text of one of a series of eight topical Libertarian outreach leaflets produced by the Libertarian Party of Skagit County, WA. The leaflets have a panel with National LP member- ship information, with a space for other LP groups to stamp their own address and phone number. Samples and a bulk price list/ order form are available from: Libertarian Party of Skagit County, P.O. Box 512, Anacortes, WA 98221.)