housing developments in european countries - Department of ...

Section 2
Context
Context Section 2
The Ministry of Economic Affairs
and Communications, and the
Estonian Credit and Export
Guarantee Fund (KredEx), will
carry out this development plan, in
co-operation with local authorities
and non-governmental
organisations in the housing sector.
The plan will be revised at least
once every four years (by 2006 at
the latest).
The implementation of the plan
Dwellings by type (2002) Apartments in 5-16 storey buildings 35
will be governed by an annually
Apartments in 1-4 storey buildings 30
Single family houses 35
drafted action plan that details the
nature of the arrangements for the
implementation of each of the
Dwellings by the availability of facilities (2000) Running water
Lavatory
Bath or shower
82
72
68
various measures. The
Central heating 59
development plan will be financed
by central government, including the government’s
extra budgetary ownership reform reserve fund, and
from the resources of the KredEx foundation.
Supervision of the implementation is based on a
regular evaluation of the measures and sub-activities
contained in the action plan.
The Estonian housing stock is comparatively young
compared to the rest of Europe. Just 18.9% of the
housing stock was constructed prior to 1945.
However, the standard of dwellings in this country is
lower than in the majority of other countries examined
in this review. In 2002, the floor area of dwellings in
this country was 26.5 m 2 per occupant. Furthermore,
in the same year only 82% of dwellings had running
water, 72% had a lavatory and only 59% had central
In 2002, the housing stock in Estonia stood at 618,561
heating.
dwellings which constitutes 454.8 dwellings per 1,000
inhabitants. TABLE 2.8.1 reveals that in 2002 the vast
Over 6,000 households (1.2%) live in a dwelling that
majority (85%) of these dwellings were owneroccupied;
does not meet the minimum requirements. Their
indeed the level of owner occupation in
dwelling lacks either electricity, heating, access to
Estonia is amongst the highest of the countries
water or toilet facilities. Nearly 150,000 households
examined in this report. In 2002, 9% of dwellings in
(25.8%) live in dwellings where they feel a lack of
this country were rented from private landlords while
privacy (sharing the dwelling or some facilities with
just 3% were public rented. Under the terms of the
other households).
Dwellings Act there is a ceiling on the rents which can
be charged for these dwellings, so they can be classified
In 2000 the vacancy rate in Estonia was 6.2% of total
as social rented.
housing stock.
2.8.2 Stock
Table
2.8.1
Characteristics of the Housing Stock in Estonia, 2000, 2002
Category %
Dwellings by period of constriction (2002) < 1945 18.9
1946-1960 8.3
1961-1970 14.5
1971-1980 15.8
1981-1990 15.7
1991 and later 4.1
Unknown 22.8
Households by tenure of dwelling (2002) Owner-occupied 85
Private rented 9
Social rented 3
Table
2.8.2
Category
Economic Trends in Estonia, 1996-2003
significantly between 1996 and 2003, average
economic growth for this period was above the average
for the countries examined in this review. At the same
time, inflation in Estonia has fallen from very high
rates in the mid-1990s, but the rate of unemployment
has increased recently from 9.6% in 1997 to 11.8% in
2001.
2.8.4 Demography
The population of Estonia stood at 1.36 million people
in 2002, which is 10% below the equivalent figure for
1992 of 1.54 million and equal to the 1970 population
level.
Year
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
% % % % % % % %
Real increase in GDP in constant (1995) prices 3.9 9.8 4.6 -0.6 7.3 6.5 6.0 4.7
Annual average change in the harmonised index
of consumer prices 19.8 9.3 8.8 3.1 3.9 5.6 Nav Nav
Unemployed persons as a% of the labour force Nav 9.6 9.2 11.3 12.5 11.8 Nav Nav
Table
2.8.3
Demographic Trends in Estonia, 1992-2000
Although this population decline has affected all parts
of the country, the rate of decline has been much more
rapid in rural areas. In the north-eastern part of
Estonia, for instance, the population has decreased
over 20% during the last decade. TABLE 2.8.3 reveals
that the reason for this decline is the low number of
births, which have consistently been exceeded by
deaths since 1992. This has in turn led to a fall in the
proportion of the population aged under 18 years. In
addition, high negative rates of net migration,
particularly during the early 1990s, also affected
population decline, although this trend has reversed
since 2000.
Category 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Population by age group (%) 0-14 years 22.0 21.1 20.3 19.2 18.3
15-24 years 13.9 14.2 14.2 14.3 14.4
25-49 years 34.2 34.3 35.2 35.5 34.7
50-64 years 17.9 17.6 16.9 16.8 17.7
65-79 years 9.3 10.0 10.7 11.5 12.3
> 80 years 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.6
Population change
(per 1,000 population) Net migration -27.1 -14.3 -9.5 -4.7 0.2
National population change -1.4 -5.5 -4.1 -5.3 -3.9
Average number of persons per private household Nav Nav Nav 2.6 2.6
In its design, the Estonian housing stock is distinctive
in European terms. TABLE 8.2.2 reveals that in 2002,
35% of all dwellings in the country were in high-rise
apartment blocks while a further 30% were in low-rise
apartments.
2.8.3 Economy
TABLE 2.8.2 sets out details of key economic trends in
Estonia in recent years. It reveals that although the rate
of increase in GDP in the country fluctuated
34 European Union Report
Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries
35