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Section 3 Policies Policies Section 3 vacancies in the social rented stock are also an issue in In recent years, declining population and economic In relation to vacant housing, the Belgian regional number of dwellings being rehabilitated should be some local authority operational areas where the structural change have also emerged as an issue in the government in the Walloon region has recently increased from about 20,000 to 65,000 per annum. population is in decline. In order to alleviate the towns and cities of the ‘old federal States’ in western introduced initiatives to promote the use of dwellings Without subsidies from government it is likely that a burden on municipal housing companies (which Germany. In the German Government’s view, this of this type. In Malta, recent amendments to the Civil significant number of social landlords and owner provide most social housing in Sweden) with high situation requires the increased differentiation of Code address the partition of properties held in occupiers will be unable to fund this work. vacancy rates, the National Board for Municipal housing policy, as different initiatives are appropriate common as a result of inheritance – one of the main Housing Support was set up in August 2002. The for different regions of the country. For example, in reasons behind the high vacancy rate of dwellings. In Among the countries where measures to promote Board’s role is to provide support for the restructuring regions with balanced markets, the housing stock is cases where the property could not be sold because of housing renovation and improvement have been of municipal housing companies in places where there becoming more important than the construction of the objection of the heir, the court can allow the sale at introduced in recent years, the United Kingdom and is a large amount of vacant housing and where the new housing. Over-supply and vacant dwellings call the specified price, or in the case where there are Ireland are distinctive because both have significant municipality plays a key role in the local housing for a stabilisation of the market by means of unknown heirs, a curator would be appointed on their programmes for refurbishment of social housing. The market. The Board’s operations are intended to put demolition and upgrading. Additionally, housing policy behalf. UK Government’s 2002 Spending Review commits it to municipal housing companies on a financial footing that is sustainable over the long term. In practice this and urban development policy must be dovetailed to a greater extent. The programme for urban restructuring Housing Refurbishment Policy achieving the following target by 2010: ‘to bring all social housing into decent condition, with most of the means that municipalities are given help to remove in the new federal States, launched in 2002 and As mentioned earlier, the renovation and improved improvement taking place in deprived areas, and surplus housing by recycling it for other uses or involving funding amounting to €2.7 billion, is one of maintenance of the housing stock has been the subject increase the proportion of private housing in decent demolition. A special State-owned company has been the central instruments employed by the Government of policy interventions in the vast majority of the 28 condition occupied by vulnerable groups.’ In order to established for this purpose. to address over-supply of housing in the former GDR European countries under examination. The only aid the assessment of achievements, the Government region. The aim of the programme, which will run exceptions in this regard are Austria, Malta, Sweden has recently produced guidance for local authorities In the United Kingdom, excess housing demand is an until 2009, is to reduce this surplus supply by and Finland, which do not have large-scale and for social landlords, explaining in detail what the issue in London and the South East of England. demolishing the housing units not required in the refurbishment programmes. In Austria, refurbishment decent homes standard means and how to implement Measures to address this issue are included in the longer term in order to help housing markets function is the responsibility of regional government and in it. Sustainable Communities Plan, which was published effectively and by boosting the attractiveness of towns recent years their activities have focused on promoting by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in February and cities through upgrading neighbourhoods that are measures to reduce energy consumption and on CO 2 The Irish Government has also established several 2003. This policy statement aims to: increase the important from an urban development point of view. emissions. The comparative youth of the Finnish programmes to enable local authorities, which provide provision of high quality and affordable housing in In order to achieve this, 350,000 dwellings which are housing stock – some 60% of the dwellings in the the majority of social housing in this country, to areas of high demand and tackle the housing shortage vacant on a long-term basis will be demolished. country have been built since the beginning of the refurbish their stock. These include the Remedial in London and the South East by providing for major 1970s – means that it does not currently require Works Scheme, which assists local authorities to growth in four areas – the Thames Gateway, Milton In addition, in 2002 central government launched a significant refurbishment. In recent years, action by the remedy structural defects in local authority housing. Keynes/South Midlands, Ashford, and London- research project on ‘urban restructuring in the old Finnish Government in this field has concentrated on Over 15,000 dwellings have been refurbished under Stansted-Cambridge. At the same time, low demand federal States’. As part of this project, pilot projects to periodic maintenance and repair of buildings (rather the scheme since its establishment in 1985. Another for housing and housing market failure is an issue in address low demand are being supported in 11 towns than refurbishment), on long-term planning for large- programme is a special project to refurbish Ireland’s parts of the North and Midlands of England. Thus, the and cities, where various measures such as conversion scale repairs, the financing of repairs and the only high-rise social housing estate at Ballymun in Sustainable Communities Plan, also aims to address and demolition work, measures facilitating re-use and installation of lifts in apartment blocks in order to Dublin, involving the demolition of the existing market decline by regenerating declining communities, upgrading, and construction and regulatory measures facilitate independent living on the part of older dwellings and their replacement with low-rise housing and setting up nine pathfinder areas in this part of the are being promoted. Funding amounting to €15 people. The installation of lifts in government-owned (2,800 units) as part of an integrated strategy for the country to tackle areas of low demand and housing million has been provided for these projects, and it is properties is seen as an important element in increasing social, economic and physical redevelopment of the abandonment. envisaged that the lessons learnt from them will then accessibility of dwellings in Malta. As mentioned in area. Funding for the refurbishment of certain Dublin be used in other towns and cities with similar Section 2, in Sweden government subsidies for the inner-city apartment complexes is a key aspect the The housing market in Germany has seen marked problems. Also, the Budget Support Act adopted at the refurbishment of dwellings were reduced significantly refurbishment programme. regional segmentation in recent years which is end of 2003 reformed the tax incentives for promoting during the 1990s. A study carried out in 2003 by the examined in more detail in Section 4. In the regions home ownership with effect from January 2004. The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and In addition, most of the long-standing EU members within the former German Democratic Republic amended version of the home ownership grant involves Planning concluded that a considerable proportion of fund more wide-ranging refurbishment programmes. (GDR), which are often termed the ‘new federal a shift in emphasis from the promotion of new housing the dwellings built during the 1960s and 1970s have This includes Ireland, where several schemes to fund States’, demand for housing has fallen and in some construction to the promotion of the purchase of now reached a stage where they require substantial the refurbishment and improvement of privately owned localities and tenures there is a problem of over-supply. dwellings from the existing housing stock. refurbishment and recommended that the average housing have been established. 94 European Union Report Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries 95
Section 3 Policies Policies Section 3 In Luxembourg, between 1989 and 2003, a total of for refurbishment and in some cases the greatest approximately 1 million dwellings including some significant proportion of the Romanian and Turkish €17.47 million was provided by Government for number of policy initiatives in this area. In Cyprus, the 600,000 apartments. It is envisaged that this housing stock requires extensive refurbishment. No improvements to housing and 12,419 households Government has undertaken the improvement of refurbishment will be funded chiefly by means of detailed policies regarding the protection, evaluation, benefited from this type of grant. abandoned Turkish Cypriot houses and provided infra- contributions from owners, although government maintenance and renovation of planned housing areas structural and other facilities. The Technical Services of subsidies will also be provided. have been devised in Turkey to date. However, to aid In Germany, particular emphasis is placed on the the Turkish Cypriot Properties Administration Service the development of such policies the Undersecretariat refurbishment and modernisation of the housing stock spends about C£2 million per year for the repair and In recent years the Government of the Czech Republic of Housing has recently undertaken a study of the in the ‘housing improvement assistance’ programmes maintenance of these houses. In addition, since 1990 has introduced a number of measures to fund the existing housing stock in Turkey. The privatisation of that are funded by the Federal Government and the funds allocated for the upgrading of government upgrading and repair of the prefabricated panel former State-owned dwellings in Romania has implemented by the Reconstruction Loan Corporation. housing estates for refugee families have been increased buildings which are so common in this country. The increased the need for government involvement in Modernisation and repair work on owner-occupied from C£500,000 to C£5 million per year and the objectives of these various schemes are to enable the refurbishment as the owners of these dwellings often and rented housing and also measures to improve the Government has recently formulated a five-year plan owners of dwellings constructed using prefabricated- have limited resources to pay for refurbishment and neighbourhood environment around multi-family for the comprehensive renewal of these estates at a panel technology to carry out emergency repairs to also may not be collectively organised to arrange these housing are promoted by providing lower-interest total cost of C£60 million. In Slovenia maintenance is remedy very serious defects in their dwellings – under works. In order to overcome these problems, in recent loans. A total of €12 million has been made available a particular problem in apartment blocks. This is the the terms of this scheme local authorities, housing co- years the Romanian Ministry of Transport, for low-interest loans of this type. result both of the low incomes of many home owners operatives and private companies can qualify for Construction and Tourism has introduced two new and the predominance of individual home owners in assistance which covers up to 40% of the cost of schemes for improving the existing housing stock. The Government of Portugal adopted a comprehensive apartment blocks, which hinders repair activity repairs that meet the requirements of the building code These include the retrofitting of multi-storey housing rehabilitation package in 1996, which included the because all decisions regarding renewal and and are approved by the local authority, subject to a buildings with high earthquake risk and buildings enhancement of the Special Regime for Subsidising the improvement require the consent of at least 50% of limit of CZK 45,000 per dwelling. Another key aim is rehabilitation for minimising thermal energy loss. Recovery of Rented Properties (RECRIA) and the owners, while all owners must consent to to regenerate large, system-built estates of 150 creation of two new programmes – the Regime providing Support for Residential Recovery in Ancient comprehensive renewal works. In order to help rectify this problem, compulsory reserve funds will be dwellings or more by transforming them from monofunctional settlements into multifunctional urban 3.2.2 International Housing Policy Trends Urban Areas (REHABITA) and the Special Regime for established which will oblige all apartment owners to districts – this scheme provides subsidies of up to 70% Subsidising and Funding the Recovery of Urban accumulate funds through monthly deposits for the of approved costs to aid the relevant local authority Although housing supply and renovation are currently Buildings Under a Residential Property Regime maintenance and renewal of blocks. prepare an improvement plan and to provide transport the subject of policy measures in the majority of the 28 (RECRIPH). 1999 saw the creation of the Welfare and and utility infrastructure, pedestrian walkways, public European countries under examination, at the same Support Programme for the Restoration of Housing In Hungary, 36% of local government owned, social areas, biking trails, noise barriers, parking spaces and time there is a perceptible difference between the recent Stock aimed at supporting needy households, especially rented dwellings are currently in good technical public recreational areas, etc. housing policy developments in the 15 long-standing those living in the eastern part of the country and in condition. About 40% of these dwellings are in need EU member States, compared to the new member the historical cores of urban centres, who wish to carry of partial renewal, while 24% of the flats are in an Developing the PANEL programme, which is States and applicant countries. Policy makers in the 10 out construction work to preserve and enhance their expressly poor condition and require comprehensive administered by the State Housing Development Fund CEE countries share a particularly discrete set of own permanent dwellings. This programme was refurbishment. However, it is estimated that of this and finances the comprehensive repair of concerns, reflecting the distinctive political histories revised in 2001, and its remit was extended to include final group, some one-third could not be economically prefabricated-panel residential buildings, is an and recent economic and demographic development of other beneficiaries and other categories of poor quality refurbished. Despite the comparative youth of the additional objective of the housing refurbishment these countries in comparison with the longstanding housing including vacant dwellings. These various Slovakian housing stock in the wider EU context, programme. As a minimum, this must involve the EU member States. schemes have not been as successful as hoped and in neglected maintenance and worn-out building repair of static defects, reconstruction of internal order to rectify this the Portuguese Government is components means that dwellings require significant installations (water and drain pipes, gas, heating, In many of the 15 long-standing EU members, preparing to merge the RECRIA, REHABITA and refurbishment. Problems in this regard are particularly electrical wiring), and improvement of thermal contemporary housing policy places significant RECRIPH programmes, in order to reduce acute in the privatised social housing stock, and many insulation. Under this programme, subsidies are emphasis on improving the stock of private rented bureaucracy and improving value for money. In of the owners of these dwellings lack the financial provided towards the interest charged on loans taken housing, which is recognised as an important resource, addition, legislation aimed at increasing refurbishment resources to carry out the maintenance themselves. out to fund these works and higher rates of subsidy are particularly in the major cities where rents are high levels in Portugal is in preparation. Consequently, the Slovakian Government estimates available for specific areas designated by central and housing affordability is consequently lower. The that the total investment necessary for refurbishment government. management of social rented housing and its Among the 25 EU members, the Governments of the of the housing stock is approximately 50 billion SKK, increasingly residual nature in socio-economic terms is new member States reported the highest level of need which would enable the refurbishment of In common with the new EU member States, a also identified as a key issue in housing policy 96 European Union Report Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries 97
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REGULAR NATIONAL REPORT ON SYNTHESI
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Regular National Report on Housing
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