Peer-graded Assignment - Financialization of Housing

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Title: I agree with the raising of housing crisis in EU

To be convinced by my claim, the first thing a reader needs to know is that I’m living in EU,
and current essay is mainly focus on EU countries status about the rising of
homelessness, housing problems, and about the wild rent hikes that are leaving EU's cities
totally unaffordable. The financial and economic crisis has had widespread social
consequences including on the capacity of households to access and maintain adequate
housing. Although the EU is undergoing a fragile recovery, housing exclusion and
homelessness have increased in many Member States. Property speculation has been a
relevant factor to explain vacant property. About 16% of properties are vacant in EU, and
those properties could be used to respond to the growing and alarming issues of housing
exclusion in EU. In some countries affected by the crisis and the bursting of the property
bubble, the increase in the vacancy rate is due to the abandonment of new complexes and
to banks repossessing a portion of the housing stock. Individual households have been
affected by predatory lending practises which often resulted in foreclosures for mortgage
default. If also managers couldn't afford to buy a house, even though he and his partner
were making more than 50 KEuro/Year. When there's people with established families that
cannot afford a house, there is something wrong with it. Moreover, Feantsa’s report on
housing exclusion in EU in 2015 showed a broad trend of increasing difficulties in meeting
housing costs for households, inequality is worsening with each region having its own
specific housing difficulties, and the most vulnerable segments of the population are often
ignored and left without solutions. New generation has no hope when it comes to getting a
secure home. Across the EU, nearly 50% of 18- to 34-year-olds were living with their
parents in 2014, according to Eurostat. This is a growing challenge that extends even to
the US, where more young adults are living with their parents than at any time since
around 1940.
The next thing my reader needs to know is that current house crisis in EU coming also
from US short-term rent companies. Airbnb, which got its start in San Francisco just under
a decade ago is by far the city’s biggest vacation-rental site. Also HomeAway and VRBO,
both owned by Expedia, and FlipKey, owned by TripAdvisor, showcase many second
homes, which San Francisco does not allow to be offered as vacation rentals. Airbnb and
HomeAway sued San Francisco in 2016 over a strict new law passed in June of that year.
A U.S. district judge rejected the companies’ arguments that their rights were being
violated and ordered them to work with San Francisco on a registration system. Such
registrations were part of the “Airbnb law” enacted in early 2015, but the requirement was
widely ignored. The Board of Supervisors just wanted to have common-sense regulations
on vacation rentals, together with the desire to have real home-sharing that does not take
units off the market that would otherwise go to people who live and work in San Francisco.
Looking now at EU countries, the short-term informal rental market pioneered by Airbnb as
one of the forces driving homelessness. The startup began in in EU effectively acts as a
real estate agent for short-term lettings: taking photos of the property, vetting applicants,
and arranging viewings. Across Europe, cities like London and Berlin have been rushing to
implement regulation to deal with these new, short-term rentals. This is mandatory to solve
this complex issue that is also a product of the last decade or more of poor governance
around housing.
Moreover, the “gentrification” of main cities is a common problem across EU. Berlin is a
modern EU city, but a form of housing crisis might take in EU's strongest economy. Berlin
is still known for a genuinely grassroots startup scene, but “gentrification”, rising rent rates,
and a stagnation in the building of affordable social housing are all leading signs for a
huge crisis. Homelessness is on the rise in almost all EU countries, and young people are
particularly affected and more vulnerable to prohibitive housing costs, overcrowding and
severe housing deprivation than the rest of the population. The young EU activists fighting
against the EU's housing crisis. In response to these challenges, young activists across
EU have been mobilizing, using direct action and protesting. These actions highlight the
complete lack of faith young people have that the government will solve a housing crisis
that is hitting them the hardest. Last but not least, I’d like to mention the Finland success
story to achieve the homelessness goal. This is not a choice made by the individual, but it
is a reality forced by government policy. As homelessness has raised in the UK up 134%
since 2010 it has fallen by 35% in Finland over a similar period of time. The Finnish
government is now aiming to abolish it altogether in the coming years. Finland solution is
painfully simple and blindingly obvious: give homes to homeless people as a basic human
right. When people are given homes, homelessness is radically reduced, together with
emergency health services and the criminal justice system is lessened too.

References:

1. Home - UN special repporteur on the right to housing - news: http://

www.unhousingrapp.org/en/news
2. The Financialisation of Housing and its Impact on Human Rights: Housing &
Homelessness in the EU: https://www.feantsa.org/download/financialisation-statement-
final1638873138569127997.pdf
3. Wild rent hikes are leaving EU's cities totally unaffordable: https://www.vice.com/
en_us/article/qkqknd/meet-the-young-european-activists-fighting-against-the-eus-
housing-crisis-v24n4
4. Airbnb listings in San Francisco plunge by half: https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/
article/Airbnb-listings-in-San-Francisco-plunge-by-half-12502075.php
5. FEANTSA has shown homelessness is on the rise in almost all EU countries: https://
www.feantsa.org/download/increases-in-homelessness4974810376875636190.pdf
6. Homelessness and housing problems reach crisis point in all EU countries - except
FIN: https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/mar/21/homelessness-
housing-problems-crisis-point-all-eu-countries-except-finland
7. Homelessness is a EU problem. All governments must act to end it: https://
www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2018/mar/23/homelessness-european-
problem-uk-rise
8. Finland has found the answer to homelessness. It couldn’t be simpler: https://
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/12/finland-homelessness-rough-
sleepers-britain