NEW PROSPECTS IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH HDA's INNOVATIVE FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL MECHANISMS

With respect to all the above guiding principles and guidance of Mass Housing Law, through the significant objectives of the Government of Turkey declared in its Programme and Emergency Action Plan, HDA initiated a country-level housing programme by the end of 2003. It has been emphasized that the construction of 100.000 housing units for low and middle income groups will be given a start by the end of 2004. The Housing Development Administration (HDA) is continuing the activities related to this aim.

Based on the recent researches on housing need in Turkey, HDA is giving priority to the areas where housing need is at the critical and urgent levels. In Turkey, it is observed that urgent housing shortage and consequently housing need is concentrated in the East and Southeast Anatolia Regions. However, in the medium term, it is expected that most of the cities in Turkey will come across with housing need. It must be stressed that housing need in Turkey does not indicate homelessness but determines that quality of the existing housing units is far from being adequate.

The long-term objective of the Government is to ensure a regular, planned urbanization, to realize a balanced development at the country level through the realization of alternative housing production models, to enable low-income people to have a home through the provision of quality and cheap housing units.

According to several researches, nearly 1,5 million housing units are needed to meet the housing problem in Turkey. Thus, the Government's first aim is to meet this necessity and to prevent illegal and squatter settlements throughout the country. To achieve this aim, HDA initiated a housing and urbanization scheme at the national level to enable the citizens to afford adequate houses. Priority, in this respect, is given to the cities where there is immediate housing need.

Through this context, HDA has formulated seven basic areas in its housing programme for the coming years. These are:

1. Housing production on its own lands for the low and middle income and disadvantaged groups ;
2. Renovation of squatter areas and the rehabilitation of existing (traditional and historical) housing stock in cooperation with municipalities ;
3. Housing production in the disaster areas ;
4. Luxurious housing production for the purpose of creating sources for social housing projects ;
5. a) Creation of producer village settlements to prevent rural-to-urban migration;
   b) Land production with infrastructure in order to decrease land prices;
   c) Immigrant Housing Applications
6. Credit support to individuals, cooperatives and municipalities .
7. Applications of Emlak Real Estate Investment Company (partnership of HDA) (Emlak GYO A.Ş.)