Report on government policies and programmes for housing subsidy in urban areas in Western Europe - covers public finances, eligibility for welfare aid in the form of rent subsidy, urban renewal, housing needs, etc. Illustrations and statistical tables.

All countries aim to improve housing conditions for their citizens but many have been forced by the financial crisis to reduce government expenditure. Social housing is at the crux of this tension. Policy-makers, practitioners and academics want to know how other systems work and are looking for something written in clear English, where there is a depth of understanding of the literature in other languages and direct contributions from country experts across the continent. Social Housing in Europe combines a comparative overview of European social housing written by scholars with in-depth chapters written by international housing experts. The countries covered include Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands and Sweden, with a further chapter devoted to CEE countries other than Hungary. The book provides an up-to-date international comparison of social housing policy and practice. It offers an analysis of how the social housing system currently works in each country, supported by relevant statistics. It identifies European trends in the sector, and opportunities for innovation and improvement. These country-specific chapters are accompanied by topical thematic chapters dealing with subjects such as the role of social housing in urban regeneration, the privatisation of social housing, financing models, and the impact of European Union state aid regulations on the definitions and financing of social housing.

First published in 1998, this volume is a comparison of three European states: the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany. The book investigates the effect of different policy stances on the volume and tenure of new housing production. Examining a number of contemporary theories, the methodology considers the role of markets, political systems and cultural factors in explaining why housing production outcomes differ. Comparative housing studies can be criticized for a number of reasons. Sometimes the theoretical framework lacks raison d’être; other times the approach comprises a purely descriptive ‘country-by-country’ overview. This study differs in the emphasis given to methodological problems ad in the approach to comparing systems, which is on an issue-by-issue basis. The conclusions show that systems of supply in which governments intervene significantly, often regulate production more successfully than those in which production is mainly market driven. The findings will be of interest to practitioners, researchers and post-graduate students of European housing.