On the global crisis of youth access to housing and the need to decommodify the right to a home

1. Access to decent and affordable housing is a fundamental human right, recognised by the United Nations
2. and closely linked to the effective exercise of other social, economic and political rights.
3. In a growing number of countries, particularly in urban areas, young people face a structural housing
4. access crisis, characterised by purchase and rental prices that are disproportionate to young people’s wages, job
5. insecurity, and a lack of sufficient public housing options.
6. Housing has gradually been transformed into a global financial asset, integrated into speculative
7. investment circuits, property funds and rent-seeking dynamics that prioritise economic profitability over
8. its social function.
9. This process has led to a growing concentration of property ownership, whereby a minority accumulates
10. multiple homes whilst large sections of young people are excluded from stable access to housing,
11. thereby perpetuating inequalities based on class, generation and social background.
12. The housing crisis has a direct impact on young people’s life plans, delaying or preventing their independence, the
13. formation of independent households, their plans to start a family, and their full participation in social and political life.
14. There are examples from around the world that demonstrate that alternative housing policies are possible,
15. particularly those based on a strong public sector, market regulation, the curbing of speculation, and the
16. promotion of non-profit models.

For all these reasons, IUSY reaffirms that:

17. The housing access crisis affecting young people is not a natural or inevitable phenomenon, but
18. rather the result of political decisions that have subordinated a basic right to market logic and
19. capital accumulation.
20. The commodification of housing poses a direct threat to equality of opportunity between
21. generations, reinforcing a social model in which inheritance and investment income carry far
22. than work.
23. Guaranteeing access to housing for young people is an essential prerequisite for democratic,
24. cohesive and socially just societies.
25. Housing is a right and not merely an investment asset. We defend its social function in all national
26. and international political and legislative frameworks.

Governments must:

27. Develop and expand the stock of public and social housing, particularly for young people.
28. Regulate rental prices in high-pressure areas to prevent abuse and residential
29. displacement.
30. Impose tax penalties on the speculative hoarding of housing and on permanently
31. vacant dwellings.
32. Prioritise residential use over tourist or financial uses when these put pressure on access
33. to housing.
34. Promote alternative models of access to housing, such as cooperatives, right-of-use
35. schemes, public rental housing, and other non-speculative models, ensuring their
36. long-term protection.
37. Advance an international youth and housing agenda that facilitates the exchange of best
38. practices amongst socialist organisations and progressive governments.
39. Support young people and social mobilisation in defence of the right to housing, recognising the
40. role of collective organisation in changing the rules of a system that currently excludes
41. millions of young people.