housing developments in european countries - Department of ...

Section 3
Policies
Policies Section 3
Table 3.6.1
Expected Medium-Term Developments in Housing in European Countries
Country
Building Regulations Measures and Changes
plans are to be agreed by the Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government in
materials and to improve the legislative environment
(investment process, consumer protection etc.).
Slovenia
A review of the National Housing Programme will be
conducted in the medium-term; the Housing Fund of
Austria Pre-parliamentary discussions are under way
regarding the creation of a housing administration
law, which will enable the development of synergies
in the administration of stock and the uniform
implementation of EU-provisions (energy certificate).
2004 and each Action Plan will comprise two parts –
firstly, an overview providing background analysis of
the nature of housing need in the county/city and the
strategic responses to this need and secondly, a
detailed plan for delivering measures comprising
realistic targets and timeframes for delivery; the
Portugal
Bearing in mind the development of a policy of
sustainable housing, the Government is preparing to
launch a set of measures in the short term, whose
objective is to promote the effective rehabilitation of
the housing stock and to encourage the rental
the Republic of Slovenia, established in order to
finance and implement the National Housing
Programme, will focus on increasing the level of
construction of rental housing and finalising the
project for providing market housing for the savers
that participated in the National Housing Savings
Bulgaria
After the adoption of the National Housing Strategy,
the programmes anchored will be implemented and
several secondary Acts related to the strategy will be
adopted.
action plans will allow for the effective allocation of
resources by the Department over the next five years
and, most importantly, will ensure that resources are
used to best effect in the long term by tackling real
need, building sustainable communities and breaking
market, thereby seeking to solve a problem which
has been dragging on for decades and which is of
crucial importance in solving the housing needs
which still affect Portugal.
Spain
Scheme.
In the medium-term housing demand will remain
high due to the rising number of cross-border
immigrant households and re-upsurges of tourist
Cyprus
A new scheme to assist low-income households will
be established and will be implemented by the
Cyprus Land Development Corporation. The
government will promote the development of
residential land in the buffer zone.
cycles of disadvantage and dependency.
Latvia In the medium-term, the priorities of the
Government are to define the State strategy on social
housing, increase the number of social houses and
social apartments in order to meet demand,
Romania
The implementation of the Residential Construction
Strategy by the Ministry of Transport, Construction
and Tourism will result in 38,000 new housing units
under the auspices of the programme for building
rental housing for young people, the creation of
approximately 120,000 new jobs and the
flows and social prospects; measures adopted and
planned in the field of housing are expected to have
a favourable impact on the social housing sector, by
means of increasing the output of social rented
dwellings and dwellings intended for low-income
home buyers; in particular, the increase in the supply
Finland
The housing market is expected to be driven by
migration flows inside Finland. There are a number of
growth centres, but there are many regions and
municipalities which stand to lose population. The
housing demand in the growth regions is further
increased by the natural increase in the number of
households, so the housing demand is expected to
remain strong in the medium-term. Conversely, in the
regions of population decline, there will be vacancies,
decreasing property values and financial problems for
owners. There is also a trend towards owneroccupancy
fuelled by low interest rates; this trend is
dependent on developments in the interest rate level,
economic growth and the magnitude of internal
migration; additionally, households are more and
more interested in low-rise housing and there are
several initiatives aimed at increasing the number of
detached houses and terraced houses.
Lithuania
Luxembourg
introduce financial instruments for housing
construction (various subsidies for social housing,
guarantees for housing construction or improvement
thereof, target loans and support programmes) and
implement assistance programmes for households
unable to make payments for apartment rental and
utilities charges will be devised and established.
By 2010, new residential construction will be
increased from 4,500 dwellings per year to 7,000
dwellings per year; the social rented tenure will be
increased from 2.5% to 3.5% of the total housing
stock; the heating systems in apartment blocks will
be modernised and there will be a 10% reduction in
energy consumption by the housing sector.
Given the population growth, the socio-demographic
changes and the enormous increase in the price of
building land during the past decade, it is very
Slovakia
development of the domestic building materials
manufacturing industry.
As a result of increasing purchasing power among
the Slovak population, demand for housing will
increase in the medium-term and supply should
increase as a consequence. Recent policy measures
which provide for the application of a liberalised rent
regime in the rented sector will be implemented with
the result that rents for social rented dwellings reflect
the costs of management and maintenance of the
housing stock; this should in turn enable social
housing managers to provide a better service;
privatisation of large sections of public housing has
created a large group of apartment owner-occupiers,
to whom all obligations ensuing from the ownership
of property have been passed. A legislative
framework to regulate societies of dwelling owners
will gradually be completed; the creation of suitable
of social housing will not only facilitate access to
housing but will also help to moderate the constant
price inflation in the residential sector.
Sweden Increased construction of new dwellings, especially
rental and student housing is the main development.
Turkey
Credit and finance opportunities for low-cost
housing will be established by commercial financial
institutions. A housing database will be established
for the purpose of instantly monitoring housing
statistics and urban indicators. In addition, the
priorities of public institutions are expected to be
directed more towards the rehabilitation of the
existing housing stock and urban design projects
than new housing construction.
United Kingdom The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is preparing
bids to submit to the finance ministry for the
Greece
A number of major issues will need to be addressed
in the medium term. These have to do with the
reorganisation of housing benefits to create a more
targeted and just system, the housing of groups in
special need, the promotion of urban renewal
projects in deprived or degraded areas and the
housing of Gypsies currently living in unsanitary
camps of shacks and tents.
probable that the imbalance between the supply and
demand of affordable housing will be accentuated.
Poland At present, the housing policy action plan for 2005-
2006 is being considered by the Government and
envisages several modifications in the current
housing policy tools including the introduction of
new legislative solutions in respect to housing;
according to the draft proposals, the most substantial
conditions for ensuring the efficient management in
the owner-occupied as well as rental sector is a
component of the broader framework of conditions
for refurbishment of the housing stock. The issue of
the modernisation and refurbishment of the housing
stock, as well as the surrounding residential
environment, will probably be one of the dominant
themes in solving housing issues and in creating
support instruments; following the enlargement of
Spending Review for 2004, which will determine the
available government funding for housing in 2005,
2006 and 2007. The Government has established a
review of housing supply which has recently
published an interim report. The report provides an
analysis of the current supply/demand issues and
emphasises that this is not just a matter of increasing
housing construction. The report emphasises the
importance of developing sustainable communities in
Ireland
Local authorities have been asked to develop fiveyear
Action Plans to deliver across the full range of
social and affordable housing programmes and
supporting measures for the period 2004 to 2008;
modifications are to introduce systemic solutions to
housing for the less affluent, to support a long-term
saving-for-housing, assist private and public
affordable rental housing, prevent negative results
from the increase of VAT rates for construction
the EU, a priority will also be the creation of
conditions for implementing EU directives and thus
ensuring efficient functioning in the conditions of EU
membership.
addition to housing construction. The final report
containing policy recommendations will be published
during 2004.
Note: Information regarding Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Denmark,
France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands is not available.
130 European Union Report
Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries
131