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Section 1 Introduction and Summary 1.1 Introduction Housing is not an EU competency, but housing policies, arrangements for their implementation and housing markets are key concerns of policy makers in European countries, because their effective operation has significant implications for the quality of life enjoyed by households, for the sustainability of communities and for economic development. Therefore, since 1989 the housing ministers of European Union (EU) member States have met regularly to discuss issues related to housing policy and sustainable development. In order to inform these discussions, in 2000 and 2001 a synthesis report summarising housing developments in European countries was prepared by France and Belgium, which held the presidency of the Council of the EU during these years. To mark its presidency of the EU, during the first half of 2004, Ireland has prepared this updated report on recent housing developments across Europe. This report was presented to a meeting of housing focal points representative of housing ministries from European countries, held in the Netherlands in November 2004. 1.2 Scope and Content This synthesis report is significantly larger than its predecessors, because it examines not only the 15 countries which were EU members prior to 2004, but also the 10 States which joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and the 3 States which were candidates for EU membership in January 2004. This introductory Section explains the research methods which were employed in the compilation of this report and synopsizes the most significant recent housing developments in European countries which are identified in the main body of the report. In addition, the report contains three other Sections. SECTION 2 The following 15 countries were EU members prior to 2004: ■ Austria ■ Finland ■ Greece ■ Luxembourg ■ Spain ■ Belgium ■ France ■ Ireland ■ Netherlands ■ Sweden, and ■ Denmark ■ Germany ■ Italy ■ Portugal ■ the United Kingdom The following 10 countries acceded to EU membership in 2004: ■ Cyprus ■ Estonia ■ Latvia ■ Malta ■ Slovakia, and ■ Czech Republic ■ Hungary ■ Lithuania ■ Poland ■ Slovenia The following 3 countries were applicants for EU membership in 2004: ■ Bulgaria ■ Romania ■ Turkey Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries 1
Section 1 Introduction and Summary Introduction and Summary Section 1 outlines the principal aims of housing policy at the National Report on Housing Developments in ■ housing policy issues, such as arrangements for To some extent this divergence in GDP per capita is current time, together with the arrangements for policy European Countries – Responses to the Questionnaire housing policy development and implementation counterbalanced by variations in annual growth in development and implementation and the characteris- Survey. and recent housing policy developments, and GDP. TABLE 1.4.1 indicates that the GDP of the 28 tics of the housing stock in each of the 28 countries under examination. The most significant contemporary economic and demographic trends pertinent to housing are also examined. SECTION 3 sketches recent housing policy and legislative and institutional developments in European countries and examines the issues that are the subject of national housing policy debates and are When housing ministries were unable to produce the data necessary to complete all Sections of this report, the requisite information was generated by the authors from 4 other sources. These are: ■ the Eurostat – long-term indicators series – ‘People in Europe’; ■ the outcomes produced by the combination of these policy interventions and structural factors, including trends in housing demand and supply, housing costs and public expenditure on housing. 1.4.1 Context countries under examination grew by 2.8%. This falls to 1.7% in the case of the 15 long-standing EU members, but rises to 4.6% for the 10 countries which acceded to EU membership in 2004. At the same time, unemployment and inflation rates are generally higher in the new EU member States. Among the 28 countries under examination annual inflation averages at 3.4%, currently of key concern to housing ministers. This Section also scrutinises changes in regulations on building standards and reports on EU and international developments which have implications for housing policy in European countries. SECTION 4 examines the outcomes of the housing policy developments in European countries which were described in the previous Section. Recent macro and micro trends in the demand for and the supply of housing are scrutinised, as are difficulties in matching supply and demand, together with the measures which have been initiated to address these difficulties, if any. Trends in housing affordability across Europe are outlined and developments in relation to the maintenance and improvement of the housing stock and the sale of social housing are reviewed. 1.3 Research Methods Most of the information in this report was collated from the results of a questionnaire which was circulated in February 2004 by the Irish Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the housing focal points in the 28 countries under examination. APPENDIX 1 to this report includes details of the representatives of housing ministries – known as housing focal points – who participated in this exercise. The questionnaire employed in this research is similar in content to the questionnaires on which the previous synthesis reports on Housing Developments in European Countries, referred to above, were based. A copy of the questionnaire is included in APPENDIX 2 to this report, while the responses which the various European countries made to the questionnaire survey ■ the Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries produced by Belgium in 2002; ■ Housing Statistics in the EU 2002, which was produced by the Department of Housing of the Direction General of Planning, Housing and Heritage of the Walloon Region of Belgium, and ■ UNECE (2002) Annual Bulletin of Housing and Building Statistics for Europe and North America, Vol. XLI (Geneva: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe). Comparing housing developments in such a wide variety of countries is a challenging task. Comparable data were not always available for all of the countries under examination. For this reason, the information presented in some of the tables in this report does not add up to 100%. Moreover, in some cases, the terminology used may have an entirely different meaning in different countries. In order to address this latter problem, a comprehensive glossary is included, explaining the key terms and abbreviations employed in this report. 1.4 Summary This Section summarises the most significant recent housing developments in European countries which are identified in this report. This synopsis is divided into three parts. These are: ■ the context for housing policy-making, including: economic and demographic trends pertinent to housing and the size and characteristics of the TABLE 1.4.1 outlines recent economic and demographic trends pertinent to housing in the 28 countries under examination in the latest year for which data are available. In this table, the GDP per capita (in Purchasing Power Standards) among the 28 countries under review is ranked in accordance with the average for the 25 EU member States, which is set at 100. TABLE 1.4.1 reveals that, in the latest year for which data are available, Luxembourg had by far the highest GDP per capita among the countries under examination, while Ireland and Denmark respectively have the second and third highest levels of GPD per capita. In contrast, the applicant countries – Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania – have the lowest GDP per capita among the countries under examination. This table also highlights a disparity between the average GDP per capita of the 15 long-standing EU member States and the new member States. Among the 15 long-standing EU member States, GDP per capita averages at 116.6, whereas the equivalent figure for the 10 new member States is 60.3. However, more detailed analysis reveals that the latter figure is significantly inflated by Malta and Cyprus, because in both of these countries the GDP per capita is significantly above the average for the 10 new EU member States. The average GDP per capita among the 8 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries which joined the EU in 2004 (i.e. the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) is 53. Although it is important to acknowledge that the GDP of these countries does also vary significantly. but the equivalent figures for the 15 long-standing EU members and the 10 new EU members are 2.3% and 3.6% respectively. TABLE 1.4.1 also highlights some recent demographic developments that have significant implications for housing in the countries under examination. For instance, in recent years population change has been low in the majority of European countries, and has been negative in several of the new member States and applicant countries. Among the 28 countries under review, natural population change per 1,000 inhabitants averages at 1.2, while net migration per 1,000 inhabitants averages at 2. In the 15 longstanding EU members natural population change averages at 1.7. This falls to –0.7 among the 10 new EU member States, and to –2.6 among the 8 Central and Eastern European countries which joined the EU in 2004. Table 1.4.1 reveals similar patterns in net migration per 1,000 inhabitants. In Latvia, Lithuania and Romania emigration has exceeded immigration in recent years. TABLE 1.4.1 demonstrates that the average household size among the 28 countries under review is 2.6 persons. Unlike many of the other economic and demographic issues mentioned above, average household size does not vary significantly between the new and long-standing EU member States. Average household size is highest in Spain, Malta and Cyprus, while it is lowest in Germany and Denmark. Moreover, Section 2 of this report reveals that, in many of the countries where average household size has traditionally been high, it has fallen significantly in recent years. are recorded in a separate document entitled Regular housing stock; 2 European Union Report Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries 3
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Appendix 1 Members of European Hous
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Appendix 2 Questionnaire 4.4 Housin
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