Fighting homelessnessTitle and housing exclusion in Europe Authors A study of national policies Isabel Baptista and Eric Marlier EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Directorate C — Social Affairs Unit C.2 — Modernisation of social protection systems Contact: Giulia Pagliani E-mail: [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels European Social Policy Network (ESPN) Fighting homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe A study of national policies 2019 Isabel Baptista and Eric Marlier The European Social Policy Network (ESPN) was established in July 2014 on the initiative of the European Commission to provide high-quality and timely independent information, advice, analysis and expertise on social policy issues in the European Union and neighbouring countries. The ESPN brings together into a single network the work that used to be carried out by the European Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion, the Network for Analytical Support on the Socio-Economic Impact of Social Protection Reforms (ASISP) and the MISSOC (Mutual Information Systems on Social Protection) secretariat. The ESPN is managed by the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), APPLICA and the European Social Observatory (OSE). For more information on the ESPN, see: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catld=113S&langld=en LEGAL NOTICE This document has been prepared for the European Commission. However, it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). ISBN 978-92-76-08769-4 Doi 10.2767/624509 © European Union, 2019 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Quoting this report: Baptista, I. and Marlier, E. (2019), "Fighting homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe: A study of national policies", European Social Policy Network (ESPN), Brussels: European Commission. National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Synthesis Report Contents OFFICIAL COUNTRY ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................7 PREFACE ......... .......................................................................................................................................................................................9 European policy context ......................................................................................................................................................9 A Synthesis Report from the European Social Policy Network ..................................................................10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................................12 RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................................................................................18 Recommendations to countries ...................................................................................................................................18 EU level recommendations.............................................................................................................................................22 1 EXTENT AND NATURE OF HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN EUROPE ...................... 23 1.1 Defining homelessness and housing exclusion: harmonisation challenges ............................. 24 1.2 Insights into the extent of homelessness in Europe .............................................................................30 1.3 Profiling homelessness: the characteristics of homeless people .................................................. 37 1.3.1 The gendered nature of homelessness in Europe ................................................................. 37 1.3.2 Age distribution and trends over time .........................................................................................40 1.3.3 Education, work and income ..............................................................................................................42 1.3.4 Ethnicity and migration background .............................................................................................43 1.3.5 Health conditions and the homelessness experience ..........................................................44 1.4 Rising homelessness trends across Europe: unveiling the main drivers .................................... 45 1.4.1 Homelessness on the increase in Europe ...................................................................................45 1.4.2 Main drivers for homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe: the determinant role of housing market pressures ...................................................................................................51 2 STRATEGIES AND POLICIES TACKLING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN EUROPE....... ...................................................................................................................................................................................54 2.1 The extent of European countries’ strategic approaches to homelessness ............................. 54 2.2 Monitoring and implementation of existing strategic approaches to homelessness and housing exclusion................................................................................................................................................................. 63 2.3 Tackling homelessness and housing exclusion: the adequacy of funding mechanisms ............................................................................................................................................................................65 2.3.1 Insufficient and inadequate funding: a major challenge .................................................. 65 2.3.2 Enhancing strategic responses to homelessness and housing exclusion: the role of EU funding ...........................................................................................................................70 2.3.3 The use of EU indicators on housing in strategic approaches to homelessness and housing exclusion ...........................................................................................................................72 3 NATURE AND PATTERNS OF HOMELESSNESS SERVICE PROVISION IN EUROPE .............................. 75 3.1 A European framework for the classification of services for homeless people .................... 75 3.2 Main types of support services ..........................................................................................................................76 3.2.1 Prevailing approaches to homelessness and housing exclusion................................... 76 5 National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Synthesis Report 3.2.2 Emergency and temporary accommodation ............................................................................78 3.2.3 Non-residential support services.....................................................................................................85 3.2.4 Housing First services ............................................................................................................................89 3.2.5 Prevention services ................................................................................................................................. 91 3.3 Effectiveness of homelessness services......................................................................................................95 3.4 The main service providers and their role ...................................................................................................99 3.5 Main recent innovations in the provision of homelessness services ........................................ 104 3.6 Main systemic causes limiting and/or enhancing sustainable ways out of homelessness .....................................................................................................................................................................107 ANNEX A: FEANTSA ETHOS-LIGHT TYPOLOGY ............................................................................................................112 ANNEX B: ADDITIONAL SUMMARY TABLES ...................................................................................................................113 Table B1: Main recent innovations in the provision of homelessness services............................. 113 Table B2: Main gaps/weaknesses in the provision of services for homeless people ................. 116 Table B3: Priorities for improvement in service provision for homeless people .......................... 121 ANNEX C: REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................................127 ANNEX D: PRESENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY NETWORK – APRIL 2019 ................. 129 ESPN Network Management Team and Network Core Team ..................................................................129 National independent experts in social inclusion and social protection ............................................ 129 6 National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Synthesis