SOCIAL HOUSING IN THE EU
Housing policies across Europe, current
challenges and opportunities
CECODHAS HOUSING EUROPE
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What is CECODHAS - Housing Europe?
CECODHAS - Housing Europe is the
federation of cooperative, public,
social housing
… a network of national and regional
housing federations of housing
organisations.
Together the 43 members in 18
European members States manage 25
million dwellings which represent
12% of the total housing stock in the
EU.
Social rental housing in the EU27
 Largest in NL,
followed by AT
and DK.
 UK, FR, SW and
FI also have a
large
social/public
housing sector
 On the
contrary, no
rental social
housing in EL,
very small
share in CEE as
well as PT, ES
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Different social housing models
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Trends in tenures: 20 years of targeting the most
vulnerables
Social housing in selected
EU countries (1980-2008)
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Home-ownership in European OECD
countries (1980-2004)
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Providers of social housing
Different providers usually co-existing
Public (municipalities, publicly owned companies)
 often retreating from new construction due to budget constraints
 often focusing on the poorest/most vulnerable
Private (mainly not for profit/limited profit organisations, but increasingly also
commercial developers)
 In most cases ‘registered’ or ‘approved’ providers acting on not for profit basis
 In some countries also ways to mobilise (temporarily) dwellings owned by private individuals
or commercial developers for social goals
 Cooperatives sometimes market actors, sometimes social role (special case Eastern Europe)
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Financing social housing: the economic model simplified
Market price
DEMAND SIDE
Rent
SUPPLY SIDE
Affordable price
Total cost
Equity/ own capital
Households expenditure
Rent/share paid by
tenants
Loan/bond
Land /
Social/protection policies
counted as social expenditure
Housing benefits
Share…
Subsidies
Public support/expenditures
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It depends on history of
affordable housing supplier
Better conditions if:
• Public guarantee
• risk sharing mechanisms
• Good financial track
records ….
• Land at preferential price (or
not)
• Community land trust,….
• Or shared ownership…
• Public grants generally
decreasing
• tax advantages
Public support as guarantee, preferential price…
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Examples from EU countries

Netherlands: HAs financially independent since 1993.
Borrowing from capital market, backed by 3 level security structure: Central
Fund of Social Housing, Guarantee Fund for social housing, state guarantee as
last resort.

France: subsidies from state and local authorities but limited. 2.5% employers
grants or loans. Main source Livret A (household saving book)

Austria: public subsidies through grants and subsidised loans; commercial
loans raised via special bonds by housing banks.

Ireland: Has traditionally had access to public loans financing up to 100% of
project. Since 2010 this is finished, now borrowing from banks with public
guarantee

Each different financial model is impacted differently by the crisis; but
everywhere it means that private finance should be mobilize (not necessarly
via global financial market, can also be local savings)
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Lessons from the crisis?




Spain: 300 000
households
France: 1.7
evicted
million
pending
Housing market highly dysfunctional, private debt as important economic
imbalance
debt for economic stability
socialas public
housing
Financial market instability causes and consequences of housing price
demands
bubbles: what regulation that would be supporting social housing providers
Housing expenditures of EU citizens increasing: 8% of Europeans and a third of
Europeans at risk of poverty spend more than 40% of their budget on housing
expenditure, and 17% Europeans face utility or rent/mortgage arrears
For the moment only consensus on strict public finance’s consolidation
England: from 1
without growth policies → threat to the survival of social housing sector when
million to 1.8
it’s most needed!
Ireland: applicants
for social housing
almost doubled in
3 years
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million households
on waiting lists
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EU opportunities: Cohesion policy

Structural Funds; period 2007-2013: 9 billions € potentially eligible
for housing energy upgrade, and 4 billions for urban renewal and
housing for marginalised community. Beginning of 2012, less then
2 billions had been invested.

Next period: housing fully eligible for ERDF funding!
Energy efficiency: Former objective 2 regions will have to dedicate at
least 20% to support shift towards a low-carbon economy, including
energy efficiency and use of renewable energy in the housing sector
Social infrastructures: “(a) investing in health and social infrastructure
which contribute to national, regional and local development,
reducing inequalities in terms of health status, and transition from
institutional to community-based services; (b) physical and economic
regeneration of deprived urban and rural communities”;
Urban development: 5% of ERDF resources allocated to integrated
actions for sustainable urban development delegated to and directly
managed by cities.
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EU opportunities: EIB & CEB

The European Investment Bank provides loans to Member States to
help them build and renovate social housing:
•
The environmental aspect is particularly emphasized
•
minimum of 100 million €
•
also together with the European Commision grants to help set up
big renovation programmes (ELENA scheme).

The Council of Europe Development Bank, (not an EU institution
and with a smaller investment portfolio) is a strong partner of the
social housing sector in Eastern Europe and for social projects in the
EU-15.
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…. Thank you for your attention!
Alice.pittini@housingeurope.eu
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