Housing as a Freedom Right

This paper develops a normative argument for housing as fundamental to human flourishing. It suggests that housing can be seen as a freedom right and is thus on a par with the right to property. The paper proceeds from a brief discussion on the importance of rights to a definition, and then on to a consideration of housing as a freedom right using the work of Waldron and Nussbaum. The argument for housing as a freedom right is based on the situated nature of basic human functioning. These functions are seen as impossible without a place to be. The paper concludes by suggesting, in general terms, the importance of this discussion to housing policy.