Published Paper Details:

As in many other developing countries, in India, too, inadequate provision of affordable housing in the urban areas has resulted in an acute housing crisis for the rapidly growing urban population. One of the primary factors that have further aggravated the existing housing problems of India, is the general lack of emphasis of the government on the provision of affordable rental housing. The overarching aim of this research is to study the present situation of affordable rental housing in the primate cities of India and analyze the drivers and barriers in the provision of the same. For this, a detailed literature review and secondary data mining have been done. Besides, carefully designed semi-structured interviews have been conducted for 10 eminent industry leaders who are closely associated with various stakeholder groups of the Indian housing value chain. It has been discovered that some of the primary constraints that have hindered the development of affordable rental housing stock in India include lack of government support; unavailability of suitable PPP (Public-Private Partnership) frameworks; requirement of huge capital investments; low rate of return and difficulties faced by the private developers in the financing of rental housing projects. However, with appropriate policy interventions coupled with political will, it is possible to overcome these challenges. This paper also provides a host of strategies and policy recommendations for achieving the same. The findings of this research regarding the drivers and barriers in the supply of affordable rental housing could be also applied to other situations where there is a pressing need for such housing