Our grandchildren will not understand it
The housing problem has become one of the key issues in public life in a large part of developed countries. Unlike other problems, such as the climate crisis, its solution is strictly human. Reducing global warming or fighting against certain diseases involves taking into account geological or biological variables that we cannot always control. On the other hand, obtaining affordable housing for people only implies the will of people, but that does not make it, by any means, simpler.
If housing is not within the reach of everyone who needs it today, it is not due to a technical inability to build it. The problem is, basically, the price. Except for very particular cases, the price of housing is determined by the market, whether it is for sale or rent. This is the capitalist economy, some will say. But in reality, it is not always like this for everything. Many essential goods, such as medicines or electricity, have regulated prices or caps on certain tariffs, despite being privately produced. We could ask ourselves why, on the other hand, housing goes its own way. Is it not also an essential good?
But, speaking of housing, this question even falls short. Almost everyone accepts that there are essential goods whose access must be universally guaranteed, such as medicines, healthcare, or basic food. But housing is something more than that. Beyond simple survival, there are two elements that are basic to guarantee, in addition, a dignified life: work and housing. Everyone has the right to create a life plan, to fight for goals, and to seek what, for lack of another word, we call happiness. And this cannot be done without the possibility of dignified and recognized work, and a place to live, where one can enjoy privacy and the things that are most personal and our own with a minimum of comfort.
Curiously, in the field of work, regulation has long been present. The employer continues to be the owner of the company, but cannot set the conditions for workers as they see fit, nor pay salaries below those stipulated in the agreement; they can decide to hire workers, but, whether they like it or not, these contracts eventually become indefinite and their termination is penalized if it is not justified. No one disputes that they are the owner of the factory, but it is clear that they cannot do everything they want, and no one is scandalized by that.
You don't need a crystal ball to see that this will be the path that housing will end up following. This does not mean that obstacles will not be encountered, because there are many more small landlords who rent out than business owners. Many people think that limiting their rights will make the rental market collapse because they will get scared. This cannot be ruled out in the short term, but I am not sure it will last. Historically, business owners used similar arguments when fighting for the imposition of an eight-hour workday or a minimum wage. Perhaps some company closed for this reason, but it is quite evident that the economy never collapsed.
Sometimes I perform the exercise of imagining how our grandchildren will see this era fifty years from now, and what they will think of those who are now scandalized by minimal measures that, rather than fixing the housing problem, patch it up. Honestly, I suspect they won't understand it.
