Trends and changes in European social housingDr. ir. Hugo PriemusProfessor of Housing OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies Delft University of Technology E-mail: priemus@otb.tudelft.nl Paper presented at the seminar ‘Social Housing in Europe 2000’, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 6th - 7th October 2000. Abstract:My contribution to the conference ‘Social Housing in the European Union 2000’ deals with growth and stagnation in the social rented sector in Western Europe. I try to explain current and future changes in the market share of social rented housing. In addition, the changes within the social rented sector will be examined. In what respects is this sector changing and what is the social dimension of the social rented sector now and in the future? I give an overview of the current transformation from social housing to owner-occupation in large parts of the housing stock in most European countries. The general outlook is a declining or stable market share of social rented dwellings. There is no European country where an increasing market share of social rented dwellings is expected now. In countries where the share of owner-occupancy is very large, there is not much evidence of growth in this sector. Owner-occupancy may be expected to rise when the economy picks up, when mortgage interest rates drop, and when governments offer homeowners tax advantages. But owner-occupancy may stagnate or even decrease when the economy slows down, unemployment rises, the number of structural full-time jobs declines, urbanisation increases, the population ages, or when a large influx of immigrants from poor countries occurs. The development of social housing is connected with the development of the welfare state. Those who expect that the welfare state will disappear have sombre expectations about the future of social housing. When we expect a reconstruction of the welfare state and in the same time a bright future for this reconstructed welfare state, we may also foresee a new future for social rented housing. This sector has to be reformed by a privatisation of finance, a stronger market orientation and a greater efficiency. As long as the social rented sector is primarily oriented towards low-income households and as long as profits are reinvested in housing, social rented housing will maintain its ‘social’ profile. A differentiated social housing sector with a substantial size and with a differentiated tenancy mix may play a crucial role in preventing spatial segregation of income groups. In this way social housing can contribute to the sustainability of a modernised welfare state. |