Introduction to housing

Housing, or more generally living spaces,[1] refers to the construction and assigned
usage of houses or buildings collectively, for the purpose of shelteringpeople —the planning or
provision delivered by an authority, with related meanings.[2] The social issue is of ensuring that
members of society have a home in which to live, whether this is a house, or some other kind
of dwelling, lodging, or shelter.[3] Many governments have one or more housing authorities,
sometimes also called a housing ministry, or housing department.

he term informal housing can include any form of shelter or settlement (or lack thereof) which is
illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the
state.[4] As such, the informal housing industry is part of the informal sector.[5] To have informal
housing status is to exist in ‘a state of deregulation, one where the ownership, use, and purpose of
land cannot be fixed and mapped according to any prescribed set of regulations or the law.’[4] While
there is no global unified law of property ownership[6] typically, the informal occupant or community
will lack security of tenure and, with this, ready or reliable access to civic amenities (potable water,
electricity and gas supply, sanitation and waste collection). Due to the informal nature of occupancy,
the state will typically be unable to extract rent or land taxes.
The term informal housing is useful in capturing informal populations other than those living slum
settlements or shanty towns, which are defined more narrowly by the UN Habitat as "contiguous
settlement where the inhabitants are characterizes as having inadequate housing and basic
services...often not recognised or addressed by the public authorities an integral or equal part of the
city."[7]
Common categories or terms for informal housing include slums, slum settlements, shanty
towns, squats, homelessness and pavement dwellers.

Informal housing in developing countries

Homelessness and insecurity of tenure are issues faced by populations around the world. However,
there are particularly pernicious circumstances in developing countries that lead to a large proportion
of the population resorting to informal housing. According to Saskia Sassen, in the race to become a
‘global city’ with the requisite state-of-the-art economic and regulatory platforms for handling the
operations of international firms and markets,’ radical physical interventions in the fabric of the city
are often called for, displacing ‘modest, low-profit firms and households’.
If these households lack the economic resilience to repurchase in the same area or relocate to a
place that offers similar economic opportunity, they are prime candidates for informal housing. For
example, in Mumbai, India, this fast-paced economic growth, coupled with inadequate infrastructure,
endemic corruption and the legacy of the restrictive tenancy laws[9] have left the city unable to house
the estimated 54% who now live informally.
Many cities in the developing world are experiencing a rapid increase in informal housing, driven by
mass migration to cities in search of employment or fleeing from war or environmental disaster.
According to Robert Neuwirth, there are over 1 billion (one in seven) squatters worldwide. If current
trends continue, this will increase to 2 billion by 2030 (one in four), and 3 billion by 2050 (one in
three). Informal housing, and the often informal livelihoods that accompany them, are set to be
defining features of the cities of the future
PHILIPPINE PERSPECTIVE ON HOUSING
A universal challenge that is housing

- It is a predicament that is just as pervasive and massive in other countries as it is in the

Philippines.

Resolving the challenge of affordable and sustainable housing has long been a subject of many
discussions and forums among think tanks, governments, experts, industry stakeholders, and the non
government organizations. But this lingering problem continues to persist.

In fact, a chunk of the global population are still living in slums and indecent shelters, while
governments remain on the lookout for effective solutions to address inadequate housing, and for
measures that will help promote affordable housing as a driver of economic growth. Indeed, the
problem of affordable housing is a universal challenge. According to a paper written by Zaigham M.
Rizvi last year for the World Bank, more than one billion people—or one out of seven persons on the
planet—are now slum-dwellers. Asian cities such as Karachi, Dhaka, Mumbai, Kabul and Manila have
some of the world’s largest slums.

In the Philippines alone, the backlog on socialized housing was estimated to have reached 5.7 million
units in 2016. At this level, the government would need to build 2,600 housing units every day over a
six-year period to resolve the said backlog.

“The massive housing backlog in the Asia-Pacific region—made all the worse by the absence of
adequate, affordable institutionalized housing finance and the apathy of stakeholders in addressing
housing-related issues—requires an assertion of political leadership that goes far beyond political
sloganeering. It is imperative that political leadership comes forward, in a determined manner to take
on this challenge, by mobilizing urban planners, academic scholars, local governments and regulatory
authorities,” Rizvi had said

FACTORS THAT AFFECT HOUSING NEEDS

The first step in busying home is knowing what type of housing best suits your family needs.
Housing needs vary according to family life stages or your perception of what you need in a house.

• Climate – can vary from warm to cold and from dry to humid

• Location – the specific placement of a home

• Cost – cost is a crucial factor in housing needs for almost everyone

• Taste – this is the sense of what is fitting, harmonious or beautiful

• Lifestyles – when selecting a home, one needs to consider the lifestyles of all family members
HOUSING PROBLEMS
Factors/Causes of housing problems in the Philippines

• Migration of people from rural areas to urban areas

• Robust population growth

• Poverty due to unemployment

• Industrialization

• Minimum wage of Filipinos

Government Help / Solutions to Solve Housing Problems

Government funded housing was established after the need for safe and affordable housing
presented itself. Once created, low income families were provided with a roof over their head that
they can afford. Government funded housing is just reserved for apartments but single family homes.

• HUDCC (Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council) – created thru executive
order no.91 is the highest policy making and coordinating office on shelter. It is an umbrella
organization which consists of heads of four housing agencies

• Government Help / Solutions to Solve Housing Problems

• 1. NHA (National Housing Authority) – is a government owned and controlled corporation

operating under the policy and administrative supervision of HUDCC. The NHA is the sole gov.
agency to engage in shelter production.

• 2.Pag-IBIG Fund (Pagtutungan sa Kinabukasan: Ikaw, Banko, Industria at Gobyerno) – pagibig

find harnesses these four sectors in the Philippine society :financial institutions, the industrial
sector, the government, and the filipino people. The fund was created to address two of the
nations basic concerns: the generation of savings and providing shelter for filipino workers.

• 3. HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board ) – is a national government tasked as the
planning, regulatory and quasi-judicial body for land use development and real estate and
housing regulations

• 4. HGC (Home Guaranty Corporation) –is the government owned and controlled corporation
mandated by law (Republic Act 8763) to promote sustainable home ownership by providing
risk coverage or guarantees and tax/fiscal incentives to banks and financial institution/
investors granting housing development loans / credits. HGC focuses on promoting home
ownership to middle- and low-income families.

• 5.NHMFC (National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation) mandate of increasing the

availability of affordable housing loans to finance the filipino home buyer acquisition of
 housing units through the development and operation of a secondary market for home
mortgages.

• 6. SHFC (Social Housing Finance Corporation) – Mandated to undertake social housing

programs that will cater to the formal and informal sectors in the low income bracket and to
take charge of developing and administering social housing programs, particularly the
Community Mortgage Program (CMP) and the Abot – kaya pannahay fund (AKPF) program

CULTURAL BELIEFS IN HOUSING (REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS )

• The experienced Filipino architect is familiar with the common folk beliefs and usually follows them
or applies these age-old guidelines in the planning of one's dream house.

• Many of these beliefs are based on sound planning practices that do not have to be overly
emphasized for example :

• In Bontoc, the front door of the house must face against the flow of a nearby river according to
ancient folk beliefs. In Romblon, the roof of the house must slope following the direction of the incline
of the nearby mountains. In the Cordilleras, it is different. The ridge of the roof is always positioned at
right angles to the ridge of the mountain on which the house stands.

• Among the Ibalois, a Benguet ethnic group in the Cordilleras, it is customary to give ample space
underneath their houses by elevating their floors to accommodate the future tomb of the owner to
ensure perpetual guidance over the house the dead leaves

Posts
• In Southern Tagalog, posts are erected following this procedure: posts are laid with their bottom
ends at the footing on the ground and the top ends pointing towards the east. The post nearest the
east is the first to be raised.

• The same procedure is followed for the other posts, one after the other in a clockwise direction as
one reads the plan. This same clockwise manner of raising the posts is practiced on the island of
Romblon and the belief is that it will make the house windproof.

• The Tausugs equate the building of a house to the development of a fetus. They believe that the first
to appear in a woman's womb is the navel. Hence, the first post to be erected should be the main post
within the interior of the house.

• In the Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, the first post to be raised is the one positioned nearest to the
northeast. But this is done after the footings have been sprinkled with wine.
• The old folks of Bataan caution against having a solitary post in the middle of a room. It is said to
bring misfortune to the family. This belief is also common in Tagalog areas and it is said that posts
situated this way augur a "heavily laden" life (mabigat ang kabuhayan).

• The Yakans do not use crooked wooden posts especially the ones with knotholes in them because
they are said to symbolize death.

• In the older communities of Bayambang, Pangasinan, it is commonly believed that termites (anay)
will not enter the house if the bottoms of all wooden posts are first charred. Informed master
carpenters, however, suggest that these bottoms not just be charred but tarred as well. Others

swear by the potency of rock salt sprinkled generously in all footing excavations as preventive
measures against anay infestation.

• Old people also cautions against cutting old posts for reuse so as not to lose one's wealth.

STAIRS
• An orientation towards the east is also required for stairs. Ilocanos position their stairs so that they
rise with the morning sun. To them, if it were the other way around, meant turning one's back on
fate.

• But builders in Pandi, Bulacan, just like many typical Filipinos, believe that a stairway facing east is
considered bad luck because, they say, anything facing the early sun dries up ahead of all others, and
in the same token, wealth taken into the house will dry up much faster.

• If there is no way one can make the stairs face east, at least make them face any nearby mountain. If
one's lot abuts a river, position the stairs in a way that they are facing upstream. This is so in order
that good luck from the house would never be washed away with the river's flow.

• In the same way, if the proposed house is beside the sea, or if one is building a beach house, plan
the stairs in such a way that they run parallel with the shore. If the stairs are perpendicular to the
shoreline, luck may flow in but also flow out with the tides.

• Most Western countries consider it bad luck to walk under a ladder. Actually, this can be taken more
as a safety precaution than a superstition. Locally, one should not make a passageway any area under
the stairs.

• Tagalogs never use the space beneath the stairs as a sleeping quarters. The underside of wooden
stairs of Ilonggo houses are usually completed covered not because of peeping Toms but because the
Old folks say so.

• For business establishments, especially the small ones, the cashier or the place where money is kept
should not be located under the staircase. In homes, neither should rice be kept there because it
translates to treading on the grace of God whenever one goes up or down the stairs.

• When planning a structure with two or more storeys, the stairway should not be positioned at the
center of the structure so as not to divide the building into two equal parts.
• It is believed that the dried umbilical cord of a son or daughter of the house owner inserted in the
staircase will strongly bind the stringer with its supporting girder.

ORO, PLATA, MATA

• There are guidelines, too, governing the number of steps in one's stairs. Starting with the first
landing, count the steps using the words oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (death).

• The perfect last step should be oro. Ending upplata is not too bad either but, understandably, do not
ever end up with mata. This ruling is strictly observed especially if it involves the first steps going into
the house. If your home has a slight elevation, choose four steps but never three.

• The Yakans of Mindanao, however, believe in odd numbering of steps. They also require an odd
number of bedrooms. Chinese Filipinos, on the other hand, count their steps by fours.

• This building belief is not limited to stairs alone.

DOORS
• It is advised that doors should not face each other. The people in the north associates this with the
easy passage of a coffin through two doors that directly face each other. Most regions in the country
also avoid positioning the main gate of the lot opposite the main entrance of the house itself.

• In Sta. Maria and San Miguel, Bulacan, however, wide doors facing each other are considered lucky,
especially if they lead to the terrace or garden

• One's door also should not directly face one's neighbor's to avoid future conflicts with the said
households and to avoid wrestling with each other for the possession of the luck that passes in front
of both your houses.

• Doors should always be on the right side of the house and the stairs should always turn to the right
to keep a married couple loyal to each other for life. Doors erected on the left side of the house and
stairs that turn to the left will encourage infidelity.

LIVING ROOMS
• Sunken rooms, like basements are looked at as pockets of caves where evil spirits can hide. It is
balanced off only when an exit lower than the said room is provided.

• Some Ilocanos do not want basements altogether because of the belief that only coffins should be
found under the ground.

• Old folks of Sta. Maria, Bulacan advise that the floors of the living and dining rooms must be of the
same level.

• Overly ornate living and dining room ceilings, especially those with cornices, moldings, and other
superficial decorations are avoided as it tends to make the ceiling look like a coffin. Even the
"mansard" are avoided as it reminds people of a coffin

BEDS AND BEDROOMS

• It is advised that one must plan the doors of one's bedrooms in such a way that when it is opened,
one would face neither the foot nor head of the bed. There should always be ample space between
the door and the bed itself.

• Position the bed such that the headboard does not rest against a window opening. Neither should
you put any bed under a cross beam, regardless of whether the beam is of wood or concrete, and
position the bed so that the occupant will not be lying perpendicular to the beam.

• For houses with second floors, it should be observed that no drainage pipe runs inside or under the
floor where the bed is located. Drainage pipes contain unclean fluids associated with bad energies
which may affect the good spirits of the people sleeping over these pipes.

• Do not place bedrooms in the basement portion of the house. It is always preferred (luck-wise) that
the bedroom floor is higher than the living room

BRIGHT DINING ROOMS

• As anyone who knows Filipino cuisine, Pampangos love to cook (and eat), so most of their dining
rooms are situated in the sunniest and brightest locations of the house. Ilocanos, on the other hand,
prefer subdued lighting because they consider eating a solemn occasion

OTHERS CULTURAL BELIEFS IN HOUSING

• As in other areas of their existence, Filipinos nurture certain superstitions when it comes to building
their abodes. These house-building beliefs are as amusing as they are intriguing. The origins of these
now widely held superstitions can be traced back to the traditions of particular ethnic groups.

• Applicable to both house owner and tenant, if the former is not residing in it, this superstition is
attributed to Pampangos in Central Luzon.

Palm fronds are popular in Filipino houses especially for Roman Catholic families.

In planning and designing the house, people should refrain from having their house in the shape of a
cross as it will bring the residents bad luck.

Doors should never face west

Mirrors should never face a house’s main door because it is believed that the mirror will send out
the blessings that are supposed to go inside the house.

During construction, residents or the carpenters working on the house should offer a pig or a
chicken’s blood through

An imperative ritual in building a house, perhaps the Ilocano counterpart of the cornerstone-laying
ceremony, is to imbed the foundation posts with loose coins—for good luck.

A house must face east, if it could be helped. Sunshine entering the front door ushers in prosperity.

Doors inside houses must not directly parallel other doors that lead outside. Easy exits mean money
earned may be quickly dissipated and never saved.
 As for stairs, they should always turn right, that being the righteous path. This particular belief
applies best to the marital bond. An opposite direction signifies infidelity.

Ilocanos of the northernmost part of the Philippines tend to cut down aratiles trees growing in front
of their houses to prevent their daughters from being illicitly impregnated.

To make a house typhoon-resistant, the posts should be turned clockwise before being permanently
cemented and secured. Allowing the shadow of a post to fall on you while erecting it is a bad omen

Erecting a house in front of a dead-end street will bring bad luck to its occupants, whether it is the
original owners or tenants.

Doors should always be on the right side of the house and the stairs should always turn to the right
to keep a married couple loyal to each other for life.

Doors should not be built facing each other for it portends that money will come in easily but will
also rush out quickly.

Septic tanks must not be constructed higher than the ground for it would demand a sacrifice in
human life.

The owner must transfer to the new house not later than six in the morning during the new moon to
attract good luck and prosperity, and the first things that must be brought inside the house are salt,
riceand coins.

No part of the house should cover or hang over the stump of a newly cut tree. Neither should a new
house overlap any portion of an old house.

A two-story building that is remodeled into a single story will shorten the lives of its occupants

A snake that enters the house brings good luck as long as it doesn’t bite any of the occupants. This is
probably based on the practice of Fili pinos during the Spanish colonial times to keep pythons in the
partition between the roof and the ceiling to reduce the rodent population the house.

While number 7 and 11 bring good luck, number 13 is never used as an address number or the
number of a story in a building.

An injury to a construction worker while a house or building is being erected is an omen of bad luck
that can be neutralized by killing a pig or a white chicken and sacrificing its blood to the spirits.

A balete tree is considered to be haunted and must not be cut down when building a house or else
the spirits will attack the construction workers as well as the owner of a house.