Informal Housing: Shelter Strategies and Resources Among Low-Income Households

Author: Mary Gail Snyder

Dissertation School: University of California, Berkeley

Abstract:

Purpose. Informal housing, especially in-law units and various forms of house sharing, have long been proposed as efficient means of housing the elderly or allowing the elderly to age in place. And in recent years, cities across the country are reporting rises in informal housing units. This research is intended to increase understanding of informal housing, which has been little explored in the United States and other advanced industrialized nations, but which is a growing phenomenon and of increasing concern to urban planners and policy makers.

Informal units are those which are originally constructed, created through structural alterations, or occupied outside of formal market regulation. Examples include illegal conversions and in-law units and illegal boarding and lodging houses.

Policy Relevance. This research will be relevant to policy makers, local planners, and affordable housing development and advocacy organizations. Because informal housing is an important means for the house-rich but cash-poor elderly to remain in their housing, or for family members to care for aging relatives, it will especially be useful in the understanding housing strategies and outcomes of the elderly and for forming policies to encourage aging in place and family care of the elderly.

Research Questions. This study will first seek to identify and analyze the characteristics and structure of informal housing in San Francisco and the characteristics of its providers and consumers. The study seeks to answer three central research questions.

First, under what conditions do informal housing arrangements occur? This question seeks to identify and understand the key variables under which informal housing is created and occupied. It is hypothesized that informal housing is a function of not only economic, but also social variables, as well as mediating variables in the built environment and the regulatory and political environment.

Second, what is the relationship of informal housing to the formal housing market? This question seeks to understand the role of informal housing within the broader housing market. It is hypothesized that informal housing is articulated with the formal housing market, functioning as a segment of it.

Third, what is the relationship of the state to informal housing? This question seeks to understand how informal housing is shaped by local government policy. It is hypothesized that informal housing is tacitly approved of, and at times encouraged by, local governments.

Methodology. The research design is based on three neighborhood case studies in the San Francisco Bay Area and combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Methods used will include statistical analysis of census and other data; direct researcher observation; interviews with residents and providers of informal housing; interviews with local institutional informants; and analysis of government documents on related policies and regulations.

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