Secretary General on Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to non-discrimination in this context. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing builds on the findings of her previous report (A/67/286) and analyses two alternative housing policies  rental and collective housing that can play a key role in the promotion of the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing for those living in poverty. She calls for a paradigm shift. In the late 1970s, a dramatic shift occurred in housing policies, starting with North America and Western Europe, followed later by some countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and by formerly planned economies. The shift, calling for the transfer of activities from State control to the private sector and for unrestricted markets, soon gained hegemony, shaping the policies of States, international financial institutions and development agencies. The effects of the approach on housing policies, hence, on the right to adequate housing and related human rights across the globe have been striking.1 The new role of the State as “enabler” led to creating conditions and institutions to support housing finance systems to promote homeownership under the neoliberal dogma of reliance on private property and market forces. Developed and developing countries have been steadily moving away from traditional supply-side assistance to demand-side housing policies. As a result, the financial sector and the private housing market became the primary mechanisms for allocating housing, by encouraging households to take credit, while the role of public housing and supply-side incentives has been gradually declining. Development assistance greatly influenced the expansion of market-based housing finance and boosted housing market activity in developing countries.