Jamaica included in IDB study on housing in Latin America and Caribbean
From Jamaica Observer
WASHINGTON (CMC) — A study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has found that while governments traditionally promote ownership of newly built homes as a solution to the housing shortage in Latin America and the Caribbean, rentals play a significant role in serving the needs of growing populations.
The study, which examined 19 metropolitan areas of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, also found that nearly 54 million families, or 37 per cent of the region’s households, suffer housing problems such as overcrowding, insufficient access to basic services, shoddy construction or materials, or lacking a property title.
“What is more, some nine million households are either homeless altogether, or live in substandard homes, or ones that are beyond repair,” according to the study, titled ‘Rental Housing Wanted’.
The study found that while Colombia is the Latin American country where renting is the most common, in the Dominican Republic the ratio is one in three households and in Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia and Jamaica it is one in four.
The study debunks the myth that only the rich rent to the poor.
“Landlords vary widely in their socio-economic level, with just a minimal presence of major real estate investors and a supply spread out among many small-scale owners,” the IDB said.
It said the preference for renting is associated with certain social groups: the ones who rent most often are young people, divorced individuals and immigrants. The kind of household also matters. Extended families and widows rent less frequently than nuclear families, while single-people and unmarried couples usually are renters.
The study found that renting offers major advantages over homeownership for many people because it tends to be concentrated in areas that are more centrally located, more densely populated and more established neighbourhoods. It is also better adapted to the preferences of certain social groups and works well in a labour market that demands that people be mobile.
In light of these findings, the IDB said it is engaging in a dialogue with countries of the region to explore how a policy to promote rental markets could complement their broader housing policies, establishing incentives both for landlords and renters, updating regulations and linking housing issues with the tools of urban planning.
“What this study proposes is to open up new, unexplored territory in housing policy,” said Vicente Fretes, chief of the IDB’s Fiscal and Municipal Management Division and co-author of the report.
“It’s not a question of replacing the focus on home ownership but rather of complementing it. It’s sound advice, taking into account the advantages for fiscal sustainability and for containing urban sprawl,” Fretes said.
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