A/HRC/7/16 page 28 (a) Urges States to take into account the contents of the general comment of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the right to water68 and, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/21, to give full effect to housing rights including the right to water, giving particular attention to women, children, communities that have been historically discriminated against and marginalized, and those living in extreme poverty; (b) Also urges States to guarantee universal access to basic human rights to water, sanitation and other essential services including electricity, and to exercise the utmost caution when contemplating policies that would lead to the privatization of water, sanitation, and electricity services; (c) Invites the Council to consider appointing a Special Rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation. Affordability 103. Given that the issue of affordability of housing will most probably worsen in the coming years, resulting in increased denial of the right to adequate housing, the Special Rapporteur calls upon the Human Rights Council to propose a human rights approach to this problem including through: (a) Urging States to devote particular attention to the question of ensuring, where possible, progressive increases in budgetary allocation to housing; (b) Requesting States to increase the availability of social housing and reversing any policies that lead to the reduction of housing subsidies for low-income groups; (c) Urging States to adopt appropriate measures to regulate public and private rental markets and the mortgage market, so that no household has to pay more than 30 per cent of its income for housing, as higher housing costs can compromise enjoyment of other basic human rights such as health, food, education and clothing. Access to land 104. On many occasions, the Special Rapporteur has drawn the attention of the Council to the unfinished agenda of recognizing the linkage between access to land and human rights. Therefore, the Council should: (a) Reaffirm the right to equal and non-discriminatory access to land and recognize that in many circumstances meeting human rights obligations will require improving access to land, particularly for the rural poor in developing countries; 68 General comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water (articles 11 and 12 of the Covenant).