Real estate market regulation and housing policy in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The housing problem in Brazil increased in the last two decades. The absolute housing deficit rose from 5,657 million in 2016 to 5,877 million in 2019. The research presented here attempts to problematize the role of the State not only as a promoter of social housing, but also as a regulator of the real estate market, including both rental and sales markets. The article aims to point out that, without State control through mechanisms of access to the formal real estate market, the production of new low-income housing units is only a mitigating measure for the restrictions that the market imposes on workers.