How would housing work?

File:HousinginOntario.png

How would housing work? is a frequently asked question about anarchism.

General Idea

Libertarian Socialists tend to believe that housing is a right of all people. We aim to give people high-quality housing either for free or at an extremely low cost and if we succeed, we will eliminate high rents, homelessness and low-quality housing (with infestations of animals and things that aren’t maintained properly, which can lead to health problems, structural collapse and fires). Not only this, but we desire tenant’s control (or tenant’s democracy or tenant’s self-management) in the same way we demand it for workers. Tenants can control their housing in the same way workers would in our society, through democratic assemblies or by electing their landlord.

Historical Examples

Housing Cooperatives

Research from Toronto, Canada found that housing cooperatives had residents rate themselves as having the highest quality of life and housing satisfaction of any housing organisation in the city. Other research among older residents from rural USA found that those living in housing cooperatives felt much safer, independent, satisfied with life, had more friends, had more privacy, were healthier and had things repaired faster.

Australian researchers found that cooperative housing built stronger social networks and support, as well as better relationships with neighbours compared to other forms of housing. They cost 14% less for residents and had lower rates of debt and vacancy. Other research has found that housing cooperatives tended to have higher rates of building quality, building safety, feelings of security among residents, lower crime rates, stable access to housing and significantly lower costs compared to conventional housing.

Marinaleda

Marinaleda, a town of 3,000 people located in Southern Spain, shows us what a new world of housing can look like. Although making an economic transition in 1979 due to mass protests, strikes and land occupations, it rose to fame in the early 2010s in the midst of a massive economic crisis and housing bubble in Spain. The town had full employment from self-managed farms and factories and no police force (being called a "utopia for peace").

Houses of three bedrooms and gardens of 100 m2 could be lived in for 15 euros per month. The local government bought all the land around the town and public grants and free assistance from professional builders is provided. Zero homelessness has been achieved and the town has built a school, a TV station, a radio station, parks, childcare centers, aged care homes, doctors offices and a swimming pool since the transition.

Squatter Communities

See also: List of Squats

Squatter communities also offer us an alternative vision of housing. In Barcelona, the famous squatter community manages to organise free housing for thousands of people. Abandoned or rotting buildings are fixed by squatters who teach themselves the skills they need along the way, they fix up their new houses, cleaning, patching roofs, installing windows, toilets, showers, light, kitchens, and anything else they need. They often pirate electricity, water, and internet, and much of their food comes from dumpster-diving, stealing, and squatted gardens.

Besides fixing up their own houses, squatters also work for their neighborhoods and enrich their communities. Some social centers host bicycle repair workshops, enabling people to repair or build their own bicycles, using old parts. Others offer workshops on carpentry, self-defense and yoga, natural healing, as well as libraries, gardens, communal meals, art and theater groups, language classes, alternative media and counterinformation, music shows, movies, computer labs where people can use the internet and learn programming. Nearly all of these services are provided absolutely free for the neighbourhood, which most non-squatters view as beneficial.