Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General, Housing Europe at ARA-päivä 16.1.2018

1. Housing Europe in Helsinki
January 2018
Twitter: @sorcha_edwards
#housingEU

2. Content & topics
What will social housing look like in the 21st century?
• Mobility, migration, diversity, segregation
• Demographics, societal trends
• Affordability, fundamental rights, vulnerable persons
• Open cities, equal opportunities and employment possibilities
How to finance, construct/deliver and manage this?
• An attractive investment (Finance)
• Coproducing the communities of our future (Social Innovation)
• Innovation to deliver (Construction, IT & Energy modernization)

3. Number of asylum seekers in Europe
1.3 million in 2015

4. Inequality and housing exclusion are mutually
reinforcing
• Housing overburden rate among people at risk of
poverty has increased significantly compared to pre-
crisis level, from 35.9 in 2005 to 39.3 in 2015 (but
slightly decreased for those with higher incomes). Share
of poor households paying too much for housing has
doubled (or more) in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece
• The income gap between tenants and owners is
widening, and the housing cost burden for tenants is
increasing disproportionately in the vast majority of EU
countries

5. The ‘bigger’ picture
• “Housing trap” and market failures (housing shortage + empty housing:
private rental sector is expensive; over-indebtedness of households;
obstacles in accessing and raising cost of credit; raising cost of
construction) (SOH 2015).
• Housing cost overburden: higher for the poor, higher in urban areas
• Rising price of construction, scarcity of land
• Shrinking social housing sector in Europe
• ‘Inadequate and poor housing is costing EU economies nearly €194
billion per year in terms of both direct costs associated with healthcare
and related medical or social services, as well as indirect costs such as
lost productivity and reduced opportunities’ (Eurofound 2016).

6. An increasing focus on the role
of cities
• 80% of people struggle to find affordable
accommodation in major European cities,
such as London, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg,
Vienna, Munich, Stockholm, and Oslo
(Eurostat 2016).
• Raising house prices risk to eventually
push large segments of the population
out of cities (OECD, 2016)
• In “hedge cities” [...] housing prices have
increased to levels that most residents
cannot afford, creating huge increases in
wealth for property owners in prime
locations while excluding moderate- and
low-income households (UN Special
Rapporteur Right to Housing, 2017)
• …Cities finding innovative solutions –
They are the Battleground

7. x = …
• Permanent
• Decent
• Affordable
• Well connected
HOUSING
x + ? = success
• Education
• Skills
• Language
• Transportation -
Density
Alejandro Aravena | Venice Biennale of Architecture 2016

8. Things are moving
• EU Urban Agenda,
Better Regulation,
Better Knowledge,
Better Finance
• EU & Housing – Better
Finance(6 billion € from
European Investment
Bank to date,)
• Social Pillar – the right
to social housing
• OECD - Cities at risk
• Commissioner Vestager
– recognise need to
consider social mix not
only housing for
disadvantaged groups
• Need for improvement,
clearer signals from EU
• Need Clear recognition
of limitation of the
market in housing in
face of challenges

9. § 31-A call for local governments to put in place housing
policies.
§ 33 –The recognition of the importance of the variety of
housing options.
§ 46-Commitment to promote the role of affordable and
sustainable housing and housing finance
Sustainable Development Goals – 4 goals linked to housing
…. Can this be stronger than temptation ?
Link to Quito Declaration – Global Urban Agenda

10. We are the doers – the ones who deliver, for the long
term….
Network of national and regional housing provider
federations
• 4,500 public, voluntary housing organisations
• 28,000 cooperative housing organisations
45 members in 24 countries (20 EU Member States)
Manage 26 million dwellings, about 11% of existing
dwellings in the EU
About us in brief

11. Our Vision, our guide
• We, not-for-profit, public and co-
operatives housing providers,
have a vision of a Europe which
provides access to decent and
affordable housing for all in
communities which are socially,
economically and environmentally
sustainable and where all are
enabled to reach their full potential.
• We provide housing for socially
sustainable neighborhoods.

13. About Finland in brief (SoH 2017)
• Lowest rate of severe
housing deprivation &
homelessness
• High prices and low
supply of affordable
homes in Helsinki
• Among countries with
highest construction
prices

14. How does Finland compare?
High rate of home ownership
0,0
20,0
40,0
60,0
80,0
100,0
120,0
Tenure split in EU Memebr States
Dwellings in each tenure as share of total occupied housing stock, latest year available
owner-occupied private rent social rent other cooperative

15. Low rate of housing cost overburden, but high for the
poor
0,0
20,0
40,0
60,0
80,0
100,0
120,0
Housing cost overburden rate
Out of total population and those with incomes below 60% of median national income, 201
Low income Total population

16. INTRODUCTION
Perceived quality of social housing
(preliminary results European Quality of Life Survey 2016)
• People who live in social housing give social housing on average a
score of 6.2, well above the score of 5.6 for the EU as a whole.* This
concurs with an earlier finding that users of services tend to give
higher quality ratings than non-users.**
• Among Member States with at least 5% living in social housing, quality
ratings among people who live in social housing*:
– Top 3: Finland (7.4), Denmark (7.3), Austria (7.3)
– Bottom 3: Italy (4.7), Ireland (5.1), Poland (5.1)
• Part of the differences can be explained by some countries social
housing focuses more on lower income groups than in other countries.
• Rent arrears are more common in social (13%) than in privately (9%)
rented housing, but if you only look at the bottom income quartile
group this is not the case (15 and 16% respectively)*
Eurofound (2012) Third European Quality of Life Survey – Quality of life in Europe: Impacts of the crisis, Publications Office of the
European Union, Luxembourg.
Eurofound (forthcoming) European Quality of Life Survey – Quality of life, quality of public services, and quality of society,
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

18. Emerging needs forcing countries
in region to re-assessing their
housing policies
• SE: Cost of construction – 30% higher than EU
average, increasing demand
• DE: Cost of construction, 5 million waiting list.
1 million social homes…
• FR: Cuts in housing allowance to reduce deficit
but will also reduce social housing
• DK: Growing Segregation evident
• Estonia: Renovation, affordable rental needed

19. How to Finance? Bricks or Person

20. • Total expenditure on housing development
has declined by 44%, from 48.2bn in 2009 to
27.5bn Euros in 2015
• Over the same time period, expenditure on
housing allowance in the EU has increased
from 54.5bn to 80.8bn Euros
• In the UK 85% of all public money spent on
housing is spent on housing benefit
How to Finance? Bricks or Person

21. • .. people have more choice in terms of
location and moving but now due to the
scarcity the costs are rising
• Housing allowance may contribute to rent
rising… every time housing allowance goes
up, the rent goes up…in England private
tenants have increased from 10 to 18%. 1.8
million claim housing allowance – 10 bn Euro
in 2018
How to Finance? Bricks or Person

22. • Dependent on market – if market not function
this will also not function
• Mix of production support and housing
allowance is needed NL FR
• No perfect solution – delicate balance –
corrections take time
• Vulnerable to changes as bill gets too big –
French cuts to rent – on-balance sheet
spending
How to Finance? Bricks or Person

23. 73,2
50,2
26,7
49,8
0,0
20,0
40,0
60,0
80,0
100,0
120,0
Above 60% of median income Below 60% of median income
Distribution of the population by tenure status and income group
EU 28 average, 2015
(Source: Eurostat, SILC)
owners tenants

24. EXAMPLE OF CONTRIBUTION:
TOOLKIT ‘TEST’, HOUSING EUROPE

26. New construction
• Baukostensenkungskom
mission in Germany
• Kombohaus in Sweden

27. Startblok Riekerhaven

28. Majviken: Next Step Living
• Next Step Living is an accommodation concept that combines modern housing with access to
community, activities and experiences. based on the engagement of tenants in activities of
common interests and similar life styles. First example in Sweden was in Majviken, Gotheborg
• Built on the premises of a former co-housing complex from the 60s which was closed in the
80s.
• ICT devices were installed in all flats, so that residents are able – for instance - to control their
energy consumption, and to check the timetable for the local transports
• Common areas include a common living room, library, gym, cinema room and a space
dedicated to arts and hobbies
• Many single households, mostly aged 20–30
and over 55. Today there are also some
couples, but few families with children, partly
due to the size of the dwellings.
• There is a Next Step Host who supports the
creation of social networks and participation
in the Club Majviken.

29. Senior citizens real estate agent
• Sometimes elderly people end up leaving alone or in couple in big
apartments that no longer suit their needs. Downsize or ’rightsize’?
• Vidome a housing association in The Hague has a special real estate agent
for the elderly in order to find more suitable homes. After finding a new
home for the senior the social housing organisation can offer the dwelling
made available to families on the waiting list.
• helps both healthy seniors leaving alone and elderly people who are less
mobile to find a new, more suitable home
• This model is spreading among Dutch housing corporation, helps
increasing mobility and better matching homes and households

30. Next steps: key topics for toolkit
Agree together on the key topics/issues to be tackled, e.g.:
• Reducing construction costs (e.g. through effective use of public
procurement)
• Managing maintenance costs (long-term perspective)
• Combining energy efficient renovation with affordability, need
for long-term perspective (maintenance…)
• High price and limited access to affordable building land
• Effective provision of measures that address migration crisis
• Integration of social services & housing
…?

31. Where do we start to gain public support???

32. Best Chance at Life

34. Continue to Promote Responsible
Housing Providers

35. ARA – key role to play
‘Finance, suitable configured for the future, can
be the strongest force for promoting the well-
being and fulfilment of an expanding global
population – for achieving the great goals of
good society’ Nobel Laureate Shiller