Housing, or rather designated living areas, refers to the arrangement and assigned use of houses or other buildings together, for the intended purpose of sheltering human beings as a collective, for the basic purpose of sheltering from climate, natural elements, and the like. It may be defined as a home made of different materials and having fixed structures made of same materials such as walls and roofs. A dwelling may be individually owned, shared or rented by a group of people according to their needs and capacity. The housing tenure is determined according to the legal structure of the land and on the basis of the production of rent. This implies that the tenure of land can change over time. In most developed countries, the housing tenure comprises of ownership by the individuals, joint ownership, tenancy in common, leasehold property, leasehold purchase and housing trusts.
Over the last few decades, there has been a considerable amount of social housing debate, especially around issues such as affordable housing and its effect on equity, affordability, quality of life and the like. The lack of social housing in some regions of the world, especially in the UK and the United States of America, and the growth of for-sale developments has led to a critical question of social housing affordability. Consequently, there has been a trend towards increased focus and attention on this issue by government officials and policy makers. For effective management of the demand for social housing, there is a need to create a framework, which encompasses the process of decommodification.
Decomposing the social housing facility or apartment is a process which involves the re-use or recycling of materials. This is a very important process that provides numerous opportunities not only for profit, but also for social equity. It provides an opportunity for tenants to have a home that is more affordable and that offers better quality of life. There are many public housing providers who are keen on undertaking this activity as they realize that it helps in improving the quality of service provided to their tenants.