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This paper looks at what is pursued and achieved by formalised tenant participation in the Netherlands, and at the main factors influencing the participation process and outcome. An evaluative examination of a participation agreement, drawn up by a Rotterdam housing association and its tenants, and the implementation of this agreement illustrates the field of friction between what is written and what is done. The paper argues that the notion of power as embedded in structuration theory is important to the understanding of the process and outcome of tenant participation. The case study shows that it is difficult to fulfil the high ambition of co-operating in equality when positions are structurally different, even when the actors have formally agreed to do so. In crucial issues, the actors' own motives prevail and the distribution of power is decisive. In the studied case, tenants' successes were achieved only on less controversial issues. Nevertheless, formalised participation provides an added value to the outcome for all actors, including the weaker ones. Having to talk to each other about policy and carrying out the procedures in itself offer an important learning process valuable to both. Furthermore, the cyclic nature of formalised tenant participation offers recursive opportunities to influence the decision-making culture, which can gradually lead to rewarding improvements in both the process and the outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amsterdam's housing market is dominated by the social-rented sector. It comprises 56 per cent of the total housing stock, while home ownership comprises only 19 per cent, lower than anywhere else in the Netherlands, and among the lowest in the world. Central government policy is currently seeking to increase the share of home ownership in the Netherlands from 53 per cent (2001) to 65 per cent in 2010. This paper will summarise recent national and local (Amsterdam) housing policy developments, focusing on the recent practice of selling social housing in Amsterdam. Unlike the Right to Buy scheme in Britain, the Netherlands employs an 'offer to buy' strategy. Sales, however, have been disappointing so far. Two factors were found to be crucial in this regard: (1) the sluggish change in 'policy mentality' and bureaucracy and (2) the high prices in the home ownership market. By way of conclusion, the paper reflects on the desirability of shifting the tenure structure from tenancy to ownership and on the risks that an (over-) emphasis on home ownership may bring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public housing in the Netherlands is rapidly changing. While it used to be an example of how government intervention could successfully contribute to create descent housing for all, and while public housing was seen as the instrument to get rid of inhumane housing conditions, currently the sector is moving into another position. The sector is still large and of high quality, but its function is significantly changing. In this paper, a brief history of Dutch and Amsterdam public housing is presented, as well as an interpretation of the main forces behind its development. These descriptions are seen as essential ingredients for understanding the rise and current decline of the sector. An empirical analysis shows for whom the sector is functioning and what the directions of change are. The sector is not only declining but also residualising. Its position in the housing market is getting weaker, while the sector increasingly functions for lower-level socio-economic categories only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a growing number of national social housing strategies rely on the work of hybrid entities blending social and commercial tasks, the state/market dualism continues to dominate the conceptual landscape of housing research. This exploratory paper develops a conceptual approach to support research into the role of not-for-profit social entrepreneurs in the housing market. It looks for insights within their ‘hybrid’ status, spanning state and market, and subject to multiple sets of institutional conditions. Four frames of hybrid identity are developed, and then substantiated via a discussion of two different sectors of not-for-profit social entrepreneurs in Australia and the Netherlands. As the growth trajectory of each sector is traced and the construction of hybrid identity is explored from both public and private perspectives, institutional pressures are revealed that set the current context for development. This brings forth implications for existing conceptual tools, as well as directions for new research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Much research in neighbour relations is inspired by two research questions. First, it is necessary to know to which degree social contacts are local and in particular whether local social contacts in disadvantaged neighbourhoods bear an instrumental disadvantage. Second, it is necessary to know whether policies aiming at mixing people from different social and ethnic backgrounds result in more diverse networks and therefore in better opportunities for low-income residents. To address these questions, this paper compares the role of local relationships and the social resources they provide in a low-income neighbourhood and a socio-economic mixed neighbourhood in the Netherlands. Contrary to assumptions in the research literature, residents in the low-income neighbourhood do not differ from their counterparts in the mixed neighbourhood in the degree to which they receive social support for dealing with everyday problems. However, networks of low-income residents provided fewer resources in terms of accessed prestige. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a wide interest in the effects of forced relocation in the context of urban restructuring. This interest is also inspired by debates on gentrification and displacement. The prevailing idea is that the lowest income groups particularly suffer from displacement in terms of their housing quality and increased rents. In addition, increasing proportions of forced movers are assumed to harm the housing opportunities of other house seekers, while competing within the social rented sector. Although several studies deal with the consequences of forced relocation, a broader perspective on housing chances is currently lacking. Moreover, most studies are qualitative, whereas a larger-scale quantitative analysis is needed to test assumptions mentioned above. This paper addresses these matters by analysing housing allocation data of the Haaglanden in the Netherlands and two cross-sectional surveys among forced movers in the region's central city, The Hague. Findings indicate that housing chances for both forced and regular house seekers have not declined substantially since 2000. Moreover, most forced movers experienced dwelling progress, partly thanks to the design of the housing allocation model. However, low-educated, as well as middle- and higher-income households less often report dwelling progress. Explanations for these findings are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution explores the relationship between housing policy, which is the responsibility of national governments, and competition policy, including the decision on the legitimacy of state support, which is the responsibility of the European Commission (EC). The paper paints a general picture of EU policy on competition and state support and describes the Dutch social housing system. Attention then turns to the recent intervention by the European Commission in the governance of Dutch social housing and it is asked whether the factors that prompted the intervention exist in other EU member states as well. The analysis shows that this is indeed the case. It is concluded that the intervention of the EC in the Netherlands could become a precedent for other European countries, particularly for those countries that opt against a residualised social rented sector and for a competitive role of social housing providers on the housing market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1990s a large majority of the social rented sector managers in the Netherlands shifted towards an advert model of allocation in place of a waiting list system. This paper focuses on the consumer's response to this new letting mechanism. Three case studies were conducted, geared to evaluate consumers' appreciation and understanding of the advert model. Various additional local, regional or national evaluations are used to put the findings from the case studies in perspective. Generally, the public appreciates the advert model more than the distribution system. However, insufficient understanding of the complex do-it-yourself allocation system affects appreciation of the system and access to vacancies both negatively. On average, people on low income and ethnic minority members (overlapping groups) were more prone to lack of understanding and were less successful applicants as a result. Moreover, the allocation mechanism has not changed differences in resources and bargaining power and its effects on the outcome of the allocation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution gives some reflections on the Netherlands' New Housing Memorandum 2000-2010, which was published on 15 May 2000. This Housing Memorandum urges the housing corporations (the social housing organisations which own 37 per cent of the housing stock) to sell 500 000 dwellings in 10 years. This seems to confirm Harloe's assertion that social housing in Europe is only a transitional tenure. Even in the Netherlands-champion of social rented housing within the European Union-the owner occupied sector would seem destined to marginalise the social rented sector in the long run. This paper argues that the housing corporations, being private, independent social entrepreneurs, will be only partially inclined to take the political message of the Housing Memorandum to heart. It is expected that the Dutch social rented sector will remain a differentiated sector and continue to blossom alongside home ownership. Harloe's theory will, in short, not be confirmed by the housing developments in the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]