United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Committee on Human Settlements ”The future of social housing is considered to be crucial.” summary report Imprint Published by City of Vienna, MA 50 Project Management Wolfgang Förster, Division for Housing Research and International Relations in Housing and Urban Renewal Edited by Europaforum Wien Siegrun Herzog, Johannes Lutter Grafic design clara monti grafik, Vienna Photos Gisela Ortner, Vienna Printed by Leukauf?, Vienna © City of Vienna, 2005 All rights reserved 1 Foreword by Kaj Bärlund, Director, 2 Starting from scratch in Kosovo – the institutional context for new social 52 Environment and Human Settlements Division, UNECE, Geneva housing in Kosovo and the experience of Wales, Malcolm Boorer Foreword by Werner Faymann, City Councillor 3 Responsibilities for housing development at different institutional levels 54 for Housing, Housing Construction and Urban Renewal, Vienna in the Slovak Republic, Alena Kandlbauerova Social housing in Latvia – reality (or current situation) 56 Programme of the Symposium 4 and future perspective, Inara Marana and Valdis Zakis Field Visit 8 “Wohndrehscheibe” – a housing information system for the disadvantaged, 58 Christian Perl Introduction to the summary report 10 Macro-economic framework and social housing finance. Financing systems, 61 Stephen Duckworth Presentations and debates Financing non-profit housing in Switzerland, Ernst Hauri 63 Session 1: The role and evolution of social housing in society 12 Funding for social housing, Jorge Morgado Ferreira 66 Session 2: The institutional and legal framework 17 A low-cost building society today, Zdzislaw Slabkowicz 68 Session 3: The macro-economic framework and social housing finance 23 Strategy on access to housing, Nermina Dzepar 70 Session 4: Social cohesion and social housing design 28 Ecological housing construction and ecological housing rehabilitation 71 Special Event: Presentation of the Austrian model of limited-profit housing 36 in Vienna, Robert Korab Case studies A new approach to social and functional mix in Belgrade housing 74 after 2002, Vladimir Macura and Zlata Vuksanovic “Social housing”. Term – concept – reality, Christian Donner 39 Integrated strategies for the creation of sustainable communities in Madrid: 76 Panel-constructed housing estates – a social challenge?, Christoph Gollner 42 The “Eco-Valle” operation, Francisco Jose Rubio Gonzalez Learning from stock transfer: processes of tenure restructuring 45 in Great Britain, Mary Taylor List of participants 78 Project “Social housing in supportive environment”, Branislava Zarkovic 49 Organisers and scientific board 85 summary report content 2 Foreword Kaj Bärlund, Director, Environment and Human Settlements Division, United experience in social housing available in the UNECE region from which countries Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Geneva can mutually benefit. To facilitate the sharing of experience, the Committee on Human Settlements decided to draw up guidelines on social housing to serve The housing needs of the socially vulnerable and disadvantaged are a corner- the exchange of know-how on social housing policies and practices and facili- stone of the work of UNECE’s Committee on Human Settlements. Poverty and tate policymakers’ choices through well-documented information on these poli- the social exclusion of vulnerable population groups are becoming an increasing cies and practices. social and political challenge. At the same time, continuously tightening public resources and the process of economic transformation, in particular in the coun- The work on the guidelines has received significant input from the Symposium tries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe, on Social Housing hosted by the City of Vienna. Its long and rich history of social pose considerable challenges to the provision of affordable housing. In many of housing makes the City of Vienna an exceptional place for discussions on, and these countries, the increasing reliance on market forces has not been sufficient the study of, social housing. More than 300 policymakers, experts, housing to compensate for the decline of the role of the state in the housing sector. For providers, researchers and tenants from across the UNECE region as well as this reason, the housing needs of the poor and vulnerable are often not ade- members of international and non-governmental organisations participated in quately addressed. The availability of affordable housing, however, is crucial for the symposium and commented on the draft UNECE social housing guidelines. an individual’s well-being as well as for ensuring a social cohesive society. It is The symposium was enriched by the presentation of a variety of practice exam- also an important factor for economic productivity: affordable housing is a pre- ples of social housing programmes across the ECE region. The profound, requisite for labour mobility and an essential part of the creation of a policy envi- diverse and professional feedback received at the symposium, along with the ronment conducive to enterprise formation and job creation. demonstration of the implementation of social housing projects across the region, has proven essential for the finalisation of the guidelines on social hous- Realising this, countries are increasingly searching for ways to effectively and ing, and I hope that the symposium’s proceedings will prove to be a valuable efficiently address the housing concerns of those most in need, and the provi- compilation of social housing practices and examples for policymakers and sion of social housing is an important tool to achieve this. There is a wealth of practitioners throughout the UNECE region. 3 Foreword Werner Faymann, City Councillor for Housing, Housing Construction and experiments such as a car-free pilot project, “Frauenwerkstatt“ (Europe’s Urban Renewal, Vienna biggest housing project entirely designed by women architects), integrative housing and other novelties are only possible because direct object subsidisa- The City of Vienna welcomes any initiative to establish and to further develop tion ensures strong public influence on the quantity and quality of housing con- social housing policies. We especially support the cooperation that has been struction. Together with housing allowances, this safeguards the affordability of successfully started with the UNECE Committee on Human Settlements and modern quality housing even for low-income households. In this way, housing which we hope will continue after the finalisation of the Guidelines on Social construction contributes significantly to creating a valid social mix for the city Housing. and social cohesion for society. Indeed, Vienna has to offer a wide range of experiences, with its long tradition However, housing construction is also an important economic factor that guar- of socially oriented housing programmes, a tradition that dates to the 1920s. antees thousands of jobs in the Vienna Region – a good reason for its constant Already in those days, around 70,000 municipal rented flats were constructed evaluation and development. This is also why the City of Vienna conducts a com- under economically and politically difficult conditions for the benefit of the prehensive housing research programme and makes the results available to all weakest groups of society. Today, “Wiener Wohnen“ administers approx. involved and interested parties. In this respect above all, international co-oper- 220,000 flats and is thus the biggest landlord in Austria, perhaps even in ation seems imperative. Europe. This stock is complemented by thousands of subsidised rented flats mostly built by non-profit housing developers, by subsidised owner-occupied The City of Vienna has thus cordially welcomed the UNECE initiative to estab- flats and, last but not least, by roughly 10,000 flats annually rehabilitated with lish a Task Force on Social Housing in order to develop a basis for social hous- public funds. In all, close to 60% of all Viennese households live in subsidised ing construction and to communicate the experiences made with such policies housing. above all to those countries in the ECE region that are faced – sometimes under very difficult conditions – with the task of newly creating social housing pro- Subsidised housing construction has decisively evolved over recent years. New- grammes. The City of Vienna is highly interested in the results obtained so far, ly introduced instruments such as developers’ competitions have markedly and I may assure you that we will continue to support such initiatives while pur- increased planning and ecological quality. For example, low-energy standards suing the added objective of good neighbourhood in a coalescing Europe. are now a matter of course in subsidised housing construction. Numerous 4 Symposium on social housing 28–30 November 2004, Vienna Programme Monday, 29 November 2004 9.00 Registration 9.30 Opening message Werner Faymann, City Councillor for Housing, Housing Construction and Urban Renewal, Vienna Opening Christina von Schweinichen, Deputy Director, Environment and Human Settlements Division, UNECE 10.00 Introduction Aims of the social housing guidelines and the symposium Wolfgang Förster, Chair of the UNECE Social Housing Task Force 10.30 Session I: The role and evolution of social housing in society – lessons learned Chair: Wolfgang Förster, City of Vienna, Division for Housing Research and International Relations Presentation of the The role