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.)