Indonesia's Housing Gap: 10 Million Households Without Homes

Indonesia has a concrete, measurable housing problem.

According to official data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in the 2023 National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas), the national homeownership backlog reached 9.9 million units. That means there are 9.9 million households living in homes they do not own and without a home elsewhere. The figure is concentrated on Java, with West Java (around 2.07 million) and Jakarta (around 1.08 million) as the largest contributors.

This is not the peak. The ownership backlog has actually declined in recent years: from 12.75 million units in 2020, to 12.72 million in 2021, 10.51 million in 2022, and 9.9 million in 2023. Then-President Joko Widodo himself noted that the growth of new families needing homes runs between 700,000 and 800,000 families per year.

The problem is that realized home construction is only around 600,000 units per year, far below the annual need that keeps growing.

This gap between supply and demand is not merely a technical issue. It is the real reason why millions of young Indonesians cannot yet move out of their parents' homes.

It is important to note: the 9.9 million figure is not the final word. Throughout 2025, an open debate emerged between government institutions over what the national housing backlog actually is.

The Deputy Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP), Fahri Hamzah, cited a far higher figure: around 15 million units. His reasoning is that the number of families has surged. Fahri stated that Indonesia's population reached around 289.5 million, and the number of families, which was 74 to 78 million in 2023 and 2024, is now 93.1 million, with a shrinking average household size. This 15 million figure is based on the National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN), calculated on a per-family basis.

But BPS disputed that figure. BPS chief Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti affirmed that the 15 million figure is not official BPS data, and that the official figure in effect at the time was around 9 million units, pending the results of the 2025 Susenas for an update.

As of 2026, the situation is still unresolved. For "this year," there is no new official figure to replace the 9.9 million. What is available is only:

What is certain is that whatever the final figure turns out to be, the scale of the crisis is not shrinking, and may in fact be larger than what has been circulating.

Jakarta is the starkest example of this crisis.

Research on young people's homeownership in Jakarta by Sunindijo et al. (2020) found that only around 17 percent of young people in Jakarta can afford to buy a home and pay the mortgage installments. The rest are trapped between unaffordable property prices and wages too low to enter the formal housing market.

The same study noted that only around 20 percent of Indonesian households can access the formal housing market. This constraint is followed by two other major barriers: insufficient income and the limited stock of affordable homes in desired locations.

Conditions in Jakarta are even sharper than the national average. Citing CNBC Indonesia (2023), around 1.77 million households in Jakarta did not have livable housing in 2022, equivalent to 63 percent of all households in the capital.

Nationally, only 65.47 percent of urban households have access to livable and affordable housing, based on data reported by perkim.id (2026) referencing BPS.

Who feels this pressure most?

According to the 2020 Population Census reported by CNBC Indonesia (2023), Indonesia's Gen Z numbers around 75 million people, or 27.94 percent of the total population. Millennials reach 69 million, or 25.87 percent. These two generations, currently in their productive years and supposedly entering the phase of building families and owning their own homes, instead face the heaviest structural barriers.

The gap between urban and rural homeownership sharpens the picture. In rural areas, 90.75 percent of residents own their own home. In urban areas, that figure drops to 73.73 percent, according to research published at proceedings.uinsauzy.ac.id (2023). Meanwhile, the share of contracted or rented homes in metropolitan areas has reached 14.9 percent, far above the 1.39 percent in rural areas.

Under these conditions, living with parents is no longer merely a cultural preference. For millions of urban young people, it is the only option available.

It would be unfair to read this phenomenon only as a crisis.

Multigenerational families have been part of Indonesia's social structure long before the housing crisis became news. Research by Kreager and Schröder-Butterfill (2008), published in the journal Demographic Research, found that intergenerational transfers in Indonesian families are multidirectional and needs-oriented. It is not only parents helping children, but also the reverse.

The presence of grandparents in one home also produces real effects: lower childcare costs, a stronger emotional support network, and more direct transmission of cultural values.

But there is a darker side. Research on multigenerational families in rural Indonesia, published in the journal Coram Mundo (2024), found that emotional relationships in multigenerational families are often marked by intergenerational conflict and economic pressure, alongside genuine closeness.

When togetherness is driven by economic inability rather than choice, the dynamics within the home change. Financial stress enters. Unspoken expectations pile up. Personal space narrows, both literally and figuratively.

This phenomenon brings three questions that should sit on the table of both policymakers and brand strategists.

First, housing as social infrastructure. The government has launched various programs, from One Million Homes to the Three Million Homes Program. But with a deficit ranging from 9.9 million to 15 million units and only 600,000 homes built per year, the pace of recovery is still far from enough. This is not a question of intent, but of scale.

Second, how brands understand their young consumers. A young Indonesian living with their parents does not mean they are financially dependent or that their consumption decisions are insignificant. They still work, earn, and hold strong consumption preferences. What changes is the context of their decision-making: a multigenerational household means more consensus, more collective consideration, and more cross-generational influence in a single purchase decision.

Third, how young Indonesians define "independence." As owning a home becomes increasingly out of reach, the definition of independence shifts. For most of Indonesia's 75 million Gen Z, independence may not be about an address separate from their parents, but about the capacity to make their own decisions within the constraints they face.

Going back to live with parents once felt like a choice. Now, for millions of young Indonesians, it is a reality shaped by numbers that are not in their favor.

The question is no longer "why don't young people want to be independent?" The more honest question is: with a 17 percent chance of being able to buy a home in Jakarta, what kind of choice is actually available?

Sources

Statistics Indonesia (BPS). (2023). National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas) March 2023: Homeownership Backlog. Jakarta: BPS-Statistics Indonesia.

CNBC Indonesia. (2023, August 8). Wahai Capres, Ada 12,7 Juta Keluarga Miskin Tak Punya Rumah. CNBC Indonesia.

CNBC Indonesia. (2023, August 9). Backlog Perumahan di Indonesia Tinggi, Ini Pemicunya. CNBC Indonesia.

Coram Mundo: Journal of Theology and Christian Religious Education. (2024). The Dynamics of Multigenerational Families in Rural Indonesia. Arastamar Ngabang School of Theology.

Detik. (2025, April 25). Benarkah Angka Backlog Perumahan Capai 15 Juta? Ini Kata Kepala BPS. detikProperti.

DPR RI. (2024). The Three Million Homes Program Expected to Become a Factor in National Economic Growth. Parlementaria.

Katadata. (2024, March 3). Gen Z Bakal Sulit Bermukim di Kota, Backlog Rumah Capai 12,7 Juta Unit.

Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR). (2022). 2022 Homeownership Backlog Report. Jakarta: Ministry of PUPR.

Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP). (2025). Roadmap Toward the Construction and Renovation of Three Million Homes. Jakarta: Ministry of PKP.

Kompas.id (2023, August 24). Mengatasi 12,7 Juta "Backlog" Perumahan.

Kreager, P., & Schröder-Butterfill, E. (2008). Ageing and Inter-Generational Wealth Flows in Two Indonesian Communities. Demographic Research, 19(52).

perkim.id (2026, March). Housing Backlog: The Silent Crisis Lurking Over Indonesia. perkim.id

Proceedings UIN Saizu. (2023). Preferences of the Young Generation toward Housing: Is Urban Affordable Housing Possible? International Conference on Islamic Philanthropy (ICIP).

Sunindijo, R. Y., et al. (2020). Young Adults and Homeownership in Jakarta, Indonesia. ResearchGate.

Tempo. (2025, April 24). BPS Bantah Backlog Rumah Capai 15 Juta Unit. Tempo.co