SOCIAL HOUSING IN THE EU Housing policies across Europe, current challenges and opportunities

1. SOCIAL HOUSING IN THE EU Housing policies across Europe, current challenges and opportunities CECODHAS HOUSING EUROPE

2. 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.

3. 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

4. Different social housing models

5. Trends in tenures: 20 years of targeting the most vulnerables Home-ownership in European OECD countries (1980-2004) Social housing in selected EU countries (1980-2008)

6. 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) Providers of social housing

7. Financing social housing: the economic model simplified Market price SUPPLY SIDE DEMAND SIDE Affordable price Rent Total cost Rent/share paid by tenants Equity/ own capital It depends on history of affordable housing supplier Households expenditure Loan/bond • Better conditions if: • Public guarantee • risk sharing mechanisms • Good financial track records …. Housing benefits Land / Share… • Land at preferential price (or not) • Community land trust,…. • Or shared ownership… Social/protection policies counted as social expenditure • Public grants generally decreasing • tax advantages Subsidies Public support/expenditures Public support as guarantee, preferential price…

8. 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)

9. Lessons from the crisis? Spain: 300 000 households evicted France: 1.7 million pending social housing demands • Housing market highly dysfunctional, private debt as important economic imbalance as public debt for economic stability • Financial market instability causes and consequences of housing price 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 without growth policies → threat to the survival of social housing sector when it’s most needed! England: from 1 million to 1.8 million households on waiting lists Ireland: applicants for social housing almost doubled in 3 years

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. …. Thank you for your attention! Alice.pittini@housingeurope.eu