Backyarding: Affordability, dignified shelter and Covid-19

This paper elaborates on the important role the backyard housing sector plays in providing (often inadequate) housing solutions (PDF, 2.76MB). It seeks to provide some insight into the dynamics and contextual nuances that inform local backyard realities and backyard rental markets and the lack of clear policy guidance on how to support and regulate this housing sub-sector. The paper further argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has made existing housing vulnerabilities all the more pertinent, not least because of its anticipated long-lasting socio-economic impacts, and that this creates an even greater sense of urgency to consider programmatic approaches to the backyard rental sector.