Housing policy and the COVID-19 pandemic : the importance of housing research during this health emergency

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly emerging as a housing emergency. In this moment of crisis, let us state our position on COVID-19 and the journal at the outset: Housing scholars, housing policy and our homes have a pivotal role in this health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic incorporates a suite of health, economic and political challenges; housing is emerging as one of them. Housing scholars have an ethical responsibility to intervene in this evolving housing emergency both as experts and researchers. In the short term we can support rapid policy making that is done well. In the longer term we can bring perspective to the changes that are taking place across our housing systems and that are required to deal with this crisis. However, we acknowledge that new COVID-19 related personal and professional pressures are likely to significantly affect the capacity of many housing scholars to submit, revise and review articles or contribute to scholarship in other ways. Depending on housing, care and income circumstances different scholars will be affected in different ways. Our editorial response has been designed in an attempt to respond to this complex suite of issues.