Land sales and leases can assist in the provision of affordable housing, allowing for public land to be sold to developers who pay a fee for the right to occupy the land for a given period of time. However, land sales and leases require adequate land administration, such as an inventory of land assets and a land asset management system. Generally, leasing periods vary from 40 to 99 years, but the most common timeframes are from 40 to 70 years.
Land leasing in Mumbai displays how the tool can be used for affordable housing. Residents in Dharavi, the largest informal settlement in the region, won the right to have new housing provided in the same area as part of a redevelopment project, if they had registered before 1995 – and newer residents soon pushed for the same provision. Through this arrangement, public profits from redevelopment and land sales are channeled into housing for low-income groups, rather than financing infrastructure across the city.
Source:
UN-Habitat. (2021) The role of land in achieving adequate and affordable housing. UN-Habitat.
Link: https://unhabitat.org/the-role-of-land-in-achieving-adequate-and-affordable-housing