Government polices and legislation on housing: The impact of government polices and legislation on the supply of urban housing with special reference to the city of Colombo: proposals for improvement

Abstract

"Housing like good health is an essen-rial factor for the wellbej ng "f a M+ ion." * It is aIso one of the most press i ng problems special lv in a developing country. It becomesa fascinating and ln+eres+Inq study when housing 0'( low income earners are examined. It does not mean to say that we, in Sri Lanka have a large population of strl'3C~tsleepers as in Calcutta or in Lagos. But also we cannot say that 'fie do not have a housing problem. There l s a vast difference between a roof over onels head and adequate housin9. Insanit2ry surround lnqs, over-crowding, poor ventilation, non-availability of even the ~ost basic needs are some of the characteristics tn poor housing areas.