It’s a paradoxical problem plaguing the entire world — millions of vacant homes even as there are hordes of homeless people searching for roofs over their heads. But trust the Japanese to come up with a radical solution.

They have set up Akiya banks — or vacant house schemes — matching those looking for homes with empty properties. And are giving these homes away free, albeit with conditions. There are 8 million empty properties in Japan, according to government estimates, a quarter of which have been deserted with no signs of them being ever put on rent or sold. In Tokyo one in 10 homes is vacant. Rather than building more stock and covering more land with construction, the Japanese are trying to find sustainable solutions to use existing resources wisely.

In India, according to the Economic Survey, over 12 per cent of the total urban housing stock is vacant. The number of vacant homes has shot up to 11.1 million in 2011 from 6.5 million a decade earlier.

Ironically, rental stock has been dwindling in India’s urban centres even as migrants struggle to find suitable homes near their workplaces. Even a large chunk of the social housing is lying vacant. According to reports, there are 1.64 lakh low-cost homes lying vacant with many State governments failing to allot them.

Clearly, something needs to be done, though the drastic Japanese model is not applicable here. The reasons for empty housing are quite different. In Japan, it is to do with dwindling population, stigmatised properties, etc. In India, it is due to poor rent control acts that make people fear letting out their properties, unclear property rights, and lack of clear regulations. Barely 28 per cent homes in India are rented, with the policy focus being on ownership. As for low cost housing, poor demand is because they have been built in inaccessible areas. Clearly, we need to build in incentives to make people rent more. Otherwise, rampant, unchecked construction is only going to aggravate pollution.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW