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Buying better than renting?

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John Black

Why do you still rent? A few years ago, the housing association used this slogan to advertise its homes in order to tempt house hunters to buy a former social housing unit. The advertising text states that 'from a financial and technical point of view, it is a good idea to buy your own place. So no more euros in the bottomless pit, but in your own place. The accompanying picture shows a before-after metamorphosis from an old dirty kitchen with a mountain of dishes to a shiny new kitchen with cabbage lettuce.

As a tenant it bothers me enormously that they apparently see renting as a form of throwing money away - which is how my landlord feels about the 1000 euros I pay every month. As a scientist, I find the advertisement exemplary for how we - from policy maker to house hunter - have come to think about housing.

Ideology of home ownership
Since the 1980s, politicians, banks and the media have led us to believe that buying a home is simply superior to renting. A persistent myth has been created. Richard Ronald, Professor of Housing, Society and Space at the University of Amsterdam, talks about the ideology of home ownership.

Buying would be financially sensible. You put your money into something that is yours and you build up equity by paying off your mortgage and by expecting future price increases. That capital can come in handy in the future when you want to move to a bigger and more expensive home, but also as a pension pot or a rainy day fund.

Responsible and independent citizens
Home ownership is also associated with less tangible, but no less important values. Home ownership is said to stand for positive values such as independence, responsibility, success and pride. One of the sharpest expressions of this belief in the Netherlands came from former CDA leader Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, when he unfolded his vision of society in 1996: 'I do not believe that people only want evil. You have to stimulate the good by giving people sustainable responsibilities for their own house, for example.

The idea is that you are more frugal with something that belongs to you, certainly if the value of that property increases as a result. That would be reflected in better-maintained façades and tidied-up gardens. Moreover, by buying a home, you would buy real freedom and independence. You would no longer be dependent on the whims of a landlord, but would be the ruler of your own castle.

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How many parents tell their children that they absolutely must buy a home when they grow up?

These ideals dovetail perfectly with the neo-liberal thinking that it is your own responsibility to secure your future. Through this individualisation of social security, collective provisions of the welfare state can be reduced. In the free market, moreover, you could consume your way to individual freedom and happiness.

The glorification of buying one's own home takes place in all sorts of places and ways: in advertisements and commercials, in newspaper columns and on opinion pages. But also in policy documents, promotional texts refer to the home as 'a proud possession or a silent dream'. It also happens around the kitchen table. How many parents tell their children that they absolutely must buy a home when they grow up? That it is an important milestone in your life, something to be proud of?

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