Habitability is the adequacy of an environment for

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

living. Where

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

is concerned, there are generally local ordinances which define habitability. If a residence complies with those laws, it is said to be habitable. In extreme environments, such as

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

, habitability must take into account psychological and social stressors, due to the harsh nature of the environment.

Habitability in law

Habitability is the conformance of a residence or abode to the implied

warranty In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects. In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed. In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the ...

of habitability. A residence that complies is said to be habitable. It is an implied warranty or contract, meaning it does not have to be an

express contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of those a ...

, covenant, or provision of a

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

. There was no implied warranty of habitability for tenants at

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and the

legal doctrine A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, Procedural law, procedural steps, or Test (law), test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. For example, a doctrine ...

has since developed in many jurisdictions through housing laws and regulations. Habitability is a common law doctrine that is largely synonymous with tenantability. In Architecture, the term habitability is understood to be an umbrella term for the suitability and value of a built habitat for its inhabitants in a specific environment over time. In order to be habitable, such housing usually: * must provide shelter, with working locks * must be heated in the winter months (typically between October 1 and May 31 in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

) * must not be infested with

vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...

, roaches, termites, or

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

* requires the landlord to stop other tenants from making too much noise (as measured by the

decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...

scale),

second-hand smoke Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called passive smoke, secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by individuals other than the active smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke diffuses into the surrounding atm ...

, or from selling

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

* must provide

potable water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

* each

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

may have various rules.

Consequences

Violation of the warranty of habitability results in

constructive eviction Constructive eviction is a circumstance where a tenant's use of the property is so significantly impeded by actions under the landlord's authority that the tenant has no alternative but to vacate the premises. The doctrine applies when a landlord ...

, whereby the

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

lessor Lessor is a participant of the lease who takes possession of the property and provides it as a leasing subject to the lessee for temporary possession. For example, in leasehold estate, the landlord is the lessor and the tenant is the lessee. The le ...

has, in effect, evicted the tenant or

lessee A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

. The tenant may remedy the problem, or complain to local government authorities for remedies.

Habitability in extreme environments

Human factors Ergonomics, also known as human factors or human factors engineering (HFE), is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Primary goals of human factors eng ...

and habitability are important topics for working and living spaces. For

, they are vital for mission success. One of the critical characteristics for living and working in extreme environments the dependency on the habitat, its technological capability as well as the sociospatial framing. ''Inhabitants who are exposed to remote and hostile environments, not only must overcome the challenges posed by the dangers and limitations imposed by the particular environment itself, but also experience significant distress from being confined indoors and isolated from civilization and social contact''. Components of the system include: The setting, the individual, the group or (microsociety) and the time. Support and evidence for the need of integrating habitability can be found in every decade. Thomas M. Fraser suggested "that habitability can be considered as the equilibrium state, resulting from man-machine-environment-mission interactions which permits man to maintain physiological homeostasis, adequate performance, and psycho-social integrity".

Habitability of islands

In 2020, the island of

Kökar Kökar () is an island municipality in the south-eastern part of the Åland archipelago, an autonomous region of Finland. It is accessible by ferry from Långnäs on Åland's main island and from Galtby on the Finnish mainland. Kökar has a ...

in the Baltic Sea, not satisfied with common sustainability methods and tools, created a tool called habitability to measure their own attractiveness as a place to live. Important characteristics of island societies which have previously been overlooked are, amongst others, the extreme seasonal shifts in human pressure, the need to define distances in time, the intricate business ecosystem of islands, and the transition to renewable, locally produced energy. The tool includes 45 indicators grouped into seven areas that can be used to test the habitability of an island society. The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs end Employment has commissioned Åbo Akademi University to implement this tool among the 600 inhabited Finnish islands, and the toolbox is presently being translated into Croatian. {{cite web , last1=Åbo Akademi , title=Habitability , url=https://www.abo.fi/en/centre-for-lifelong-learning/habitability/ , website=www.abo.fi , publisher=Abo Academy , access-date=28 April 2021 Habitability © 2020 by Christian Pleijel, Pia Prost, Cecilia Lundberg is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

References

External links

Evicting Tenants in New York

Contract law Landlord–tenant law Real property law Legal doctrines and principles