Social Housing in Europe

Social Housing in Europe Edited by Christine Whitehead and Kathleen Scanlon Published by LSE London, London School of Economics and Political Science July 2007 ISBN 978-0-85328-100-9 Contents Foreword 4 John Hills Preface 1. Introduction and Key Findings 5 The idea for this book came from a multidisciplinary group of French aca- 2. Social Housing in Europe 8 demics based at different Paris universities that was organised by the GIS Christine Whitehead & Kathleen Scanlon Réseau Socio-Economie de l'Habitat network, which receives support from the PUCA (Plan Urbain Construction Amenagement, the Research Office of 3. Social Housing in Austria 35 the Ministry of Capital Works and Housing). Over the course of the last 18 Christoph Reinprecht months, the group has met five times (in Brussels, Paris, London and 4. Social Housing in Denmark 44 Berlin). Each meeting was devoted to discussion of different issues related to social housing, and local organisations or government bodies often pro- Kathleen Scanlon & Hedvig Vestergaard vided some financial support. One of these seminars, generously supported 5. Social Housing in England 54 by the Department of Communities and Local Government, was held in London in September 2006. Christine Whitehead 6.Social Housing in France 70 We would like to thank the authors of the reports for their hard work and patience. We would also like to thank all those who participated in the Claire Levy-Vroelant & Christian Tutin events who offered helpful comments and advice. They included: Jane Ball, 7. Social Housing in Germany 90 Nathalie Boccadoro, Nick Bulloch, Claire Carriou, Darinka Czischke, Benoit Filippi, Laurent Ghekiere, Christine Lelevrier, Peter Malpass, Alan Murie, Christiane Droste & Thomas Knorr-Siedow Jean-Pierre Schaefer, Maxime Chodorge, Marc Uhry and Mark Stephens. 8. Social Housing in Hungary 105 We are grateful to the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) which József Hegedüs helped to fund this publication through the LSE London Research Centre 9. Social Housing in the Republic of Ireland 118 together with a seminar bringing out the issues for London. Finally, we would Declan Redmond & Michelle Norris like to thank Ben Kochan for putting the final touches to the publication and bringing it to fruition. 10. Social Housing in the Netherlands 130 Marja Elsinga and Frank Wassenberg 11. Social Housing in Sweden 148 Bengt Turner 12. Social Housing in Transition Countries 165 József Hegedüs The Contributors 178 Social Housing in Europe Social Housing in Europe Foreword 1. Introduction and Key Findings John Hills Social Housing in Europe The debate around the future of social housing in England is currently more active than it has been for many years. Demand pressures on housing in general - and on Introduction social housing in particular - are intense. Concerns have grown about the concentra- tion of much social housing in particular disadvantaged areas, and about the low lev- This booklet aims to give an overview of the social housing sector in Europe. The els of economic activity amongst tenants. intention is to identify general patterns and important trajectories, that are likely to impact on future policy. Our goal is not to provide detailed descriptions of the sector But much of this debate has been insular, while - as the papers in this collection reveal in every country, but to understand its key attributes and to clarify major trends. In - other European countries are grappling with similar problems, suggesting that we particular we hope to convey a feel for political and other pressures for change in each could have much to learn from the approaches they are developing to tackle them. country. This book is made up of a comparative analysis of the trends in nine Strikingly, issues of polarisation and segregation are common, even between coun- European countries alongside individual reports provided by housing specialists from tries where the scales of social housing are very different. Equally - with the excep- those countries. The first section by Kathleen Scanlon and Christine Whitehead brings tion, for fiscal reasons, of Hungary - social housing is the focus of renewed policy together the main strands from the national reports and aims to provide some com- attention across the group. parative insight. The papers about nine european countries and the transition countries follow a similar structure but stylistically are very different reflecting the variations This collection provides a very welcome account of recent trends and debates within in institutions and priorities in each country and the experts' differing views. a consistent framework, which in itself sets England's position in context. But it also highlights new policies that may suggest lessons: Denmark's new law to allow hous- The focus is mainly on western European countries that have some tradition of gov- ing associations to sell property to improve social mix; France's difficulties in meeting ernments treating housing as an element of social policy. Hungary and other eastern ambitious targets for new social house-building; Germany's approach of establishing European countries are briefly included for comparison. a 'socially integrative city'; or the debate in the Netherlands about the potential uses Key findings of the considerable surpluses accumulated by its housing associations. · In the countries studied (Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, This volume offers a rich range of ideas as to how the UK and its fellow European Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden), social housing as a percentage of the countries might consider addressing one of their most pressing issues in terms of housing stock ranges from a high of 35% in the Netherlands to a low of 4% (after managing their social housing stock, ensuring adequate housing for all and achieving mass privatisation) in Hungary. In most countries this percentage has fallen over mixed sustainable communities. The timing of this publication is particularly appropri- the last ten years as the provision of social housing has not kept pace with over- ate gven the emphasis the new UK government under Gordon Brown is giving to all building, and/or social units have been privatised or demolished. affordable housing. · There is no single definition of social housing across Europe. There are definition- John Hiills is Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion and Professor al issues particularly around the position of co-operatives, time limited subsidies, of Social Policy at the LSE. He recently conducted a review into the future role of and the role of private suppliers. social housing for the UK Government. His publications include: A More Equal Society: New Labour, Poverty, Inequality and Exclusion (co-editor) (2005) and · The profile of the social housing stock differs across countries in terms of age, Inequality and the State (2004). housing type, and the percentage located on estates. In many countries the prob- 4 5 Social Housing in Europe Social Housing in Europe lems of social housing are almost synonymous with those of post-war industrially costs, and they do not reflect the relative attributes of individual dwellings. Equally built estates. linking rents to actual expenditure on investment is seen as generating major issues of affordability and segregation. · Social housing serves different client groups in different countries - in some it is a tenure of the very poor, while in others it houses low-waged working families or · In tightening housing markets there is a widening gap between the usually inex- even the middle classes while the very poor are accommodated elsewhere. In a pensive social rented sector and an increasing expensive owner-occupied sector. few there is a wide range of income groups. Even so, it is true to say that the As a result it is becoming more difficult for employed households and those house- social sector generally houses a disproportionate number of single-parent fami- holds with incomes too high to qualify for social housing, but too little to pay for lies, the elderly, and the poor. market housing, to find affordable options. · There has been a revival of interest in social housing as one way in which govern- · Some countries promote intermediate tenures such as shared ownership, as well ments can meet the increasing overall requirement for housing that stems from as subsidised owner-occupation, for households that would otherwise live in demographic and income pressures. In many countries there is interest in social rented housing. This can be part of an explicit policy to introduce or increasing new supply - although so far not much in the way of action or money. improve tenure mix in deprived areas. · Housing providers and funding regimes vary by country. Housing providers are · The 'very social' sector, which offers temporary and sometimes precarious accom- increasingly separate from local authorities; at the same time in most countries modation, is growing. Housing associations and charities are playing a greater there has been a shift towards more local decision-making. role here. · New social housing is generally on mixed-tenure sites. Efforts are also being · Countries where social housing caters for employed households on reasonable made to introduce a greater mix in the existing stock and to use public assets incomes are running into problems with the EU for subsidising the undeserving - more effectively. only housing for the poor is considered to be ‘a service of general economic interest’. · The potential for public/private partnership is being explored in several countries. This can mean that private finance funds provision by traditional social owners, or · Overall the tensions and pressures across Europe are surprisingly similar, what- private developers themselves becoming involved in operating social housing. ever the original role of the social sector in each country. The emphasis is very much on partnership and mixed communities with particular concerns about seg- · Increasingly highly targeted subsidies are seen as leading to residualisation - and regation and the position of vulnerable households.

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