Post-disaster needs assessments guidelines: Volume B - Housing

The general objective of the sector assessment is to assist the government at all levels in understanding the effects and impact of the event on the Housing Sector and to improve the quality of outcomes from the recovery process in housing and settlement reconstruction.

The specific objectives of the PDNA Housing and Settlements sector include providing the following:

A comprehensive analysis of the country’s policy and institutional frameworks for the Housing Sector and the land administration system, with particular emphasis on:

• national housing policy;
• urban planning and development policy;
• local governance: the adequacy of these frameworks under normal conditions and their ability to be adapted to the demands of the post-disaster housing reconstruction process; the implications of operating within a weak state and/or with a high level of informality;
• land use and administration, including statutory, customary and informal rules and institutions and the implications of operating in an urban or rural environment;
• housing construction system and practices, which includes the actual capacity of the organisations involved in the housing reconstruction, and the specific challenges that have already arisen, or may be expected to emerge as the post-disaster housing reconstruction programme is planned and executed;
• insurance and housing finance, which covers the possibility of financial supports and different mechanisms to achieve best results for all segments of the housing market;
• local infrastructure construction and operation;
• risk management policies including risk reduction.

Concrete and specific recommendations on how to improve the response to the disaster in such areas as:

• policy, legal and regulatory modifications;
• institutional roles and responsibilities;
• coordination mechanisms;
• needs for institutional strengthening, including capacity-building activities;
• financial strategies, which include budgeting and financial management;
• information management, monitoring and evaluation, and communication;
• land-related issues such as land tenure, land use and land administration;
• water and sanitation linked to housing and settlements.

This volume of the Post Disaster Needs Assessment Guidelines is available in English, French, and Russian.