Investigating housing tenures beyond homeownership: a study of informal settlements in Kolkata, India

Manish Shirgaokar and Andrew Rumbach

Housing Studies, 2018, vol. 33, issue 1, 117-139

Abstract: Improving the lives of households in informal settlements is a major development challenge. Though ownership is the predominant housing tenure arrangement pursued in national and international housing policies, there is a growing consensus that forms of tenure beyond homeownership may provide greater benefits to some households. In Kolkata, informal settlements (bastis) are the primary source of affordable housing for the urban poor. Relying on detailed household survey data, we investigate the utility gained from the diversity of housing tenure arrangements in bastis and the factors that increase the length of time a household lives in a settlement, using multinomial logit and ordinary least squares regression specifications. Our analyses show that in comparison to ownership, leasing or renting benefits large households and new migrants. Our findings suggest that policies targeted at households who rent and lease, along with improving housing and supporting infrastructure, can be effective mechanisms for improving household well-being.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2017.1344955

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