The Housing Dimension of Welfare Reform - the ICCR

[1.6] The most important actors in housing policies are: state
representatives at the national and/or regional and local level; interest
organisations for residents and owners; non-profit building associations;
and organisations catering to the needs of specific groups. National actors
are in charge of housing issues in Denmark and Ireland but
implementation rests with local authorities. In Germany, Austria,
Belgium and Italy regional actors are equipped with crucial powers to
shape policies and legislation, in addition to their implementation
responsibilities.
[1.7] In most European countries we find policies supporting home
ownership. Related policies range from subsidies for mortgages and
loans, tax rebates on housing loans, relief from VAT or income tax,
shared ownership models that provide a path from tenancy to ownership,
allowances to supplement interest payments on mortgages, low interest
loans, annuity grants, one-time grants for construction or first-buyers and
subsidised saving schemes.
[1.8] Tenant protection legislation covering termination of leases, time
periods of contracts and rent control exist in some form or other in all of
the states compared. Legislation is the main instrument to address the
interests of both tenants in private-rented accommodation and landlords.
There has been a general tendency towards an increase of landlords’
rights to opt for short-term contracts. The problems that tenants often
encounter are not lack of good laws but the weak negotiating position of
tenants under conditions of shortage of affordable lettings and lack of an
effective system of public control to ensure that landlords comply with
the existing legislation.
[1.9] The social housing sector is in the decline, including in those
countries where it comprised an important building block of the modern
welfare state following the end of World War II, like in Denmark or
Austria. The re-orientation of housing policies towards the needs of
vulnerable groups and the socially excluded is reflected in the gradual
tightening of eligibility criteria for social housing.
[1.10] The majority of Europeans (69 per cent) own their houses. The
ratio of home-owners is highest in Ireland (81 per cent) and lowest in
Germany (47 per cent). The private rentals sector is most popular in
Germany (41 per cent), least in Ireland and the UK (five and eight per
cent respectively). The Netherlands displays the most populous social
housing sector – 34 per cent occupy social housing dwellings – followed
by the UK (23 per cent), Denmark (21 per cent) and Austria (17 per
cent).
EUROHOME-IMPACT FINAL REPORT 7