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A significant number of young people live in temporary homes, which are designed to fulfil basic needs and provide space for normal activities. However, it is unclear what those basic activities are. Moreover, the indoor environmental quality is often left out of the meaning of home, although activities and objects can affect its experienced quality. We therefore verbally and visually explored how young temporary dwellers appropriate and experience their homes, including the indoor environmental quality. Fourteen young adults took part in semi-structured interviews and photographed their most used as well as their favourite place. The interviews were transcribed and analysed following an interpretative phenomenological analysis. The experiences of appropriation in the home were connected to the physical environment through an analysis of the photos and floor plans (sketched by the researcher) using an architectural analysis from the user perspective. The outcome showed that the young adults appropriated their home in three ways: by familiarising the place with objects and "normal" activities, organising where things are and when they happen, and managing the indoor environmental quality through activities and objects. It is concluded that qualitative and visual analyses can assist with making recommendations to improve the design of temporary housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People living in short-term rental housing, henceforth temporary housing, are rarely consulted by professionals involved in the design process, whether regarding new or refurbished buildings. Knowing what is required for temporary dwellers to feel at home and how their meanings of home relate to household characteristics, activities, and indoor environmental quality, might result in better designs for these commonly small dwellings. To explore the views of temporary occupants about their home environment, we designed and conducted a survey directed to young people in the Netherlands, likely to be familiar with living in temporary accommodation (141 university students, 58 refugees who have received a permit to stay; henceforth named permit holders), 23 persons who were working 4 days and studying 1 day; henceforth named starters). Through factor analysis, six meanings of home were found to be statistically significant: Representation, privacy, sociability, rootedness, future, and appropriation. Multiple regression analyses and analyses of variance indicated that meanings of home were related to some household characteristics and the presence of light and cleanliness. Our study showed that measuring meanings of home might help understand not only how dwellings are used but also how to improve the design of small temporary dwellings. For instance, more possibilities for good or natural light, storage, and the display of personal possessions should be incorporated into the design of these small dwellings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive announced that all new buildings are to be nearly zero-energy as of January 2021. Having reached year 2022, it can be said that the transition has proven to be slower than anticipated. Transition research has long acknowledged the potential impact of the human factor in the process of change. While there is a relative wealth of literature on end-users and their perceptions as recipients of change within the demand end of the market, research on professionals and their perceptions as actors in the process of change is limited. Thus, this study looks at the human factor in the supply end of the market by bringing professionals' perceptions to the forefront in its investigation of barriers to the implementation and uptake of nearly zero-energy housing in practice. As part of the project entitled Housing 4.0 Energy: Affordable and Sustainable Housing through Digitization, data were collected through a focus group and semi-structured interviews with housing professionals in Kilkenny, Ireland. Descriptive coding, inferential coding, and fact tracing revealed several identified barriers to be perceptions and not actual barriers to nearly zero-energy housing. Additionally, information dissemination and assimilation between policy and industry was identified as an overarching barrier. Therefore, the paper ends with recommendations to reduce delay factors at the supply end of the market, thus contributing to closing the gap between the development of policies and their implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, Public Rental Housing (PRH) has become the program of providing affordable rental housing to low- and middle-income households in China. Even though descriptions of the governance results are numerous, the previous studies are not underpinned by a theoretical foundation from a governance perspective, nor have they empirically examined whether PRH governance works on the ground. This explorative and empirical paper aims to fill this gap of an outcome-oriented evaluation of the impacts of governance as perceived by the final user. Central government formulated the objective for PRH governance as maintaining stability in the society. Whether the tenants perceive the goal of social stability as achieved was measured along three governance outcome dimensions: satisfaction with housing quality, satisfaction with housing quantity, and willingness to communicate with the government about PRH governance. Data were collected from questionnaires to PRH-tenants in Chongqing, the most important pilot city of PRH provision in China. The findings show that the perceived governance outcomes were quite mixed as tenants were moderately satisfied with PRH housing quantity, but less satisfied with housing quality, and thought they could relatively easily communicate with local government. In view of these mixed outcomes, to strengthen the effectiveness of PRH governance in the eyes of the tenants, this study suggests local governments: (1) to rethink and redevelop the performance evaluation; (2) to rethink the relations with non-governmental actors and organise a monitoring system that will assist in optimizing housing quality; and (3) to facilitate tenants' communication with local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, government intervention in welfare states has witnessed a shift from 'government' to 'governance': policy making shifted from hierarchical government steering to mixed forms involving government, market and civic actors. Such terminology has also entered Chinese policy language on public rental housing (PRH) provision. To unravel the perceived power distribution in the relationships between the involved actors, this article draws from in-depth interviews in two Chinese cities: Chongqing and Fuzhou. The article thereby contributes new insights to the perceived power relations in Chinese PRH provision on the ground. It also develops an analytical framework based on Billis by complementing it with Social Network Analysis to measure the power relations. Such a framework will allow the comparison of different governance systems across time and different jurisdictions within and beyond China. This study shows the structures and mechanisms for non-governmental actors to play a role, which they do not have in the 'government' period, in the governance of PRH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, there is a growing number of urban renewal projects due to the rapid growth of the economy and urbanization. To meet the needs of urban development, urban renewal requires a sound decision-making approach involving various stakeholder groups. However, current urban renewal decision-making is criticized for poor efficiency, equity, and resulting in many unintended adverse outcomes. It is claimed that high-level transaction costs (e.g., a great deal of time spent on negotiation and coordination) are the factors hidden behind the problems. However, few studies have analyzed urban renewal decision-making in a transaction costs perspective. Using the case of Chongqing, this paper aims at adopting transaction costs theory to understand the administrative process of urban renewal decision-making in China. This research focuses on four key stakeholder groups: municipal government, district government, local administrative organizations, and the consulting parties. A transaction costs analytical framework is established. First, the decision-making stages of urban renewal and involved key stakeholder groups are clarified. Second, the transactions done by different stakeholder groups in each stage is identified, thus to analyze what types of transaction costs are generated. Third, the relative levels of transaction costs among different stakeholder groups were measured based on the interview. The empirical analysis reveals how transaction costs occur and affect urban renewal decision-making. Finally, policy implications were proposed to reduce transaction costs in order to enhance urban renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution is a reflection on the critical analysis of Mark Stephens of the theoretical work on housing systems by Jim Kemeny. It concludes that the analysis of Stephens is a great incentive to continue the debate on housing and welfare started by Kemeny. The core of the review is that Stephens focusses on the so-called maturation of social rental housing as a replacement of government subsidies: can non-profit housing compete with commercial housing under smart conditions for social sustainability? Stephens is right that this maturation thesis does not hold and he provides convincing evidence for this. However, Stephens contribution neglects an important part of Kemeny's work: the link between housing and more in particular the role of home ownership in welfare states. Here is work to be done! This contribution concludes with emphasizing the link between housing and welfare systems and its underlying ideologies. Rules of the games such as laws for social rental housing are important, but even more important than laws are day to day beliefs among citizens and professionals of what is right and wrong in housing practice. In other words it needs further research to explore the role of housing in practice of populism and COVID19. How do underlying housing ideologies play a role in current practice and how do and can they change policies and practices in housing in different continents? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After three decades of housing reform in China, housing assets constitute a sizable share of family wealth but are distributed unevenly, as registered homeowners are predominantly male. This is partly because males generally have higher incomes than females and can therefore contribute more to the financing, but also because males receive more intergenerational transfers. On the basis of 31 in-depth interviews from Chongqing, this article seeks to answer two questions: (1) How and why does the gender of the recipient affect the negotiation of intergenerational transfers? and (2) What are young women's possibilities to accumulate housing assets? The research findings show that young women either ask their parents for help to secure housing assets before marriage or they attempt to co-own a home with their husbands after marriage. Women who do not succeed in either of these strategies do not accumulate housing assets and thereby risk their rights to the home if their marriage is dissolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporary transformations of vacant buildings could alleviate the shortage of housing for urgent home seekers. However, not much is known about the transformation of buildings into temporary, adequate, and affordable housing. A multidisciplinary literature review covering design, indoor environmental quality, housing, and environmental psychology, was performed to determine if such an integrative approach could shed light on a new perspective to provide housing for 'urgent home seekers'. Subsequently, building transformation case studies were compared with the literature review findings. It is concluded that there is a gap in knowledge on how the concept of 'home' can be added to existing regulations in order to design and realise temporary housing that fits the needs of urgent home seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in urbanising Latin America encourage low-income homeownership. In practice, this means that low-income urban families become owners of units in condominium properties. While the homeownership dream may thus be achieved, difficulties with maintenance can lead to deterioration. This paper considers condominiums as collective action arenas and applies the Institutional Analysis and Development framework of Ostrom (2005) to explore the links between the characteristics of (1) the communities, (2) governance and (3) the physical environment with the perceived level of maintenance (PML). Using data from a survey of 414 households carried out in 2014, we compare the circumstances of low-income condominiums in Bogota (Colombia) and Quito (Ecuador), two cities with similar housing policies but different horizontal property laws. Our central hypothesis is that the more modern law in Colombia enforces self-organisation and therefore better maintenance outcomes. In line with our hypothesis, the results demonstrate that the maintenance level in Bogota is higher than in Quito. Contrary to our hypothesis, participating in self-organisation in Bogota had a negative effect on PML, while in Quito the effect was positive. This indicates that the law matters but the relationship between the formal arrangements required by law, self-organisation and maintenance outcomes is more complicated than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses individual house transaction data from 1995 to 2014 in Amsterdam to explore the risks and interrelationships of the subdistrict house prices. Simple indicators suggest that house prices grow faster and are more risky in the central business district and its immediate surrounding areas than in the peripherals. Furthermore, we observe an over time decreasing intervariations between the subdistrict house price growth rates, whereas we find a lead-lag and house price causal flow from the more central to the peripheral subdistricts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the risk factors in homeowners from the individual household’s perspectives within the owner-occupied housing sector of The Netherlands. Risk in home ownership from mortgage providers’ perspectives has received tremendous attention than individual home owner’s perspectives in existing literature following the financial crisis in 2007/2008 within the euro zone.Design/methodology/approach The paper adopted a broader review of extent literature on the different concepts and views on risk in homeownership. These concepts are unified into a framework that enhances our understanding of the perceived sophisticated risk in owner-occupier with focus on The Netherlands.Findings From the perspective of the homeowner, two main types of risks were identified: default payment and property price risk. The paper has unearthed a quantum number of factors which underline the above risks. These factors relate to the initial amount of mortgage loan taken out, the future housing expenses and the income development of the owner-occupier. Family disintegration is identified, as one of the main causes of mortgage default and that of property price risk are mainly influenced by income levels, interest rates and conditions in the social and private rental sectors.Research limitations/implications Findings of the paper are based on review of the extant literature in the context of the Dutch housing market. Possible rigorous situational analysis using other tools are recommended for further research.Originality/value This paper contributes to the much needed body of knowledge in the owner-occupied sector and provides a better understanding of risk in home ownership from the individual perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s fast growth of economy and urbanization have driven large-scale urban renewal projects, thus triggering a wide spectrum of unsustainable problems. Little research has systematically explored the stakeholders’ expectations in urban renewal projects in China. A deeper understanding of the divergent interests and expectations of the key stakeholder groups is an important step towards sustainable urban renewal. This paper aims to analyze the stakeholders’ expectations on urban renewal projects. Eighteen factors are identified and compared among the main stakeholders: government sectors, consulting parties, the general public and affected residents in both redevelopment and rehabilitation projects, using questionnaire survey and interviews in Chongqing, China. The results reveal that there exist enormous differences of opinions and interests among stakeholders in all economic, environmental and social aspects. To achieve sustainable urban renewal in China, the governments ought to reconsider what the “public interest” stands for. In-situ residents should be understood and treated differently, based on the type of projects. An effective dialogue mechanism as well as supportive administrative and legal system should be established. Moreover, urban-renewal-related education and publicity should be a long-term strategy to change current awareness of different stakeholders, by improving their skill and willingness to participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to examine the existence of the ripple effect from Amsterdam to the housing markets of other regions in The Netherlands. It identifies which regional housing markets are influenced by house price movements in Amsterdam.Design/methodology/approach The paper considers the ripple effect as a lead-lag effect and a long-run convergence between the Amsterdam and regional house prices. Using the real house prices for second-hand owner-occupied dwellings from 1995q1 to 2016q2, the paper adopts the Toda–Yamamoto Granger Causality approach to study the lead-lag effects. It uses the autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL)-Bounds cointegration techniques to examine the long-run convergence between the regional and the Amsterdam house prices. The paper controls for house price fundamentals to eliminate possible confounding effects of common shocks.Findings The cumulative evidence suggests that Amsterdam house prices have influence on (or ripple to) all the Dutch regions, except one. In particular, the Granger Causality test concludes that a lead-lag effect of house prices exists from Amsterdam to all the regions, apart from Zeeland. The cointegration test shows evidence of a long-convergence between Amsterdam house prices and six regions: Friesland, Groningen, Limburg, Overijssel, Utrecht and Zuid-Holland.Research limitations/implications The paper adopts an econometric approach to examine the Amsterdam ripple effect. More sophisticated economic models that consider the asymmetric properties of house prices and the patterns of interregional socio-economic activities into the modelling approach are recommended for further investigation.Originality/value This paper focuses on The Netherlands for which the ripple effect has not yet been researched to the authors’ knowledge. Given the substantial wealth effects associated with house price changes that may shape economic activity through consumption, evidence for ripples may be helpful to policy makers for uncovering trends that have implications for the entire economy. Moreover, the analysis controls for common house price fundamentals which most previous papers ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the determinants of homeownership among young people in China. More specifically, it aims to shed light on the shifting importance of the state (through ‘redistributive power’) and the ability of young people to compete in housing markets (‘market ability’) after more than three decades of market transition. Through an analysis of data from the China General Social Survey, the paper quantifies the impacts of four types of determinant on young people's access to homeownership: political affiliation, organisational affiliation, territorial affiliation, and market ability. Results show that a redistributive power (through territorial, political, and organisational affiliation) still influences access to housing, mainly in the form of territorial affiliation (hukou registration). Higher market ability does not contribute to homeownership but is related to independent living. The paper points to three housing policy priorities to improve young people's housing opportunities: reduce inequalities resulting from unequal access to homeownership, improve options for young migrants, and improve conditions in the rented sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many governments encourage home ownership and try to find ways to make this tenure more affordable for lower income groups. Well-known examples are Shared ownership and Home buy in the UK and Land Community Trust and Shared Equity Home Ownership in the USA. In the Netherlands, these types of products are popular among housing associations, which are private non-profit organisations. With the Dutch housing market in crisis, affordable home ownership products have gained popularity among house-seekers and social housing suppliers. This has resulted in a range of mostly complex products with different features which are not easy to compare. This paper aims to compare the financial performance of the various products under different economic conditions. This paper firstly puts the Dutch products into an international perspective by providing a typology based on an overview of the literature. Subsequently, each product is described in more detail and its financial consequences from a consumer as well as an investor perspective are calculated for three different economic scenarios. Finally, the paper reflects on how the Dutch products compare to the well-known products in the UK and the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments across the world have faced a difficult balancing act in reacting to the GFC: housing markets and in particular new construction have slumped and mortgage lending is down, calling for measures to stimulate output. But the crisis was brought about in part by the proliferation of new mortgage products and lax lending standards from the 1990s onwards-calling for tighter regulation. This paper examines the cases of the UK and the Netherlands. Both countries have high levels of mortgage debt to GDP and well-developed mortgage markets, but the important institutional differences between them, and the fact that their housing-policy developments often serve as models for other countries, make a comparison worthwhile. The paper takes a system-embedded approach to describing the housing and mortgage markets, and the governments' post-GFC responses. The countries enacted similar short-term stimulus measures for the housing market but have adopted stricter long-term regulations for the mortgage market, which replace the assumption of rational consumer behaviour with the principles of behavioural economics. The institutional frameworks condition the effects of such measures, so outcomes will differ, but tighter regulation of mortgage markets can be expected to reduce demand for owner-occupied housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both Sweden and the Netherlands had housing systems that include broad models of municipal housing (Sweden) or social housing (Netherlands). These broad models, however, came under discussion due to the competition policy of the European Commission. Financial government support – state aid – for public or social housing is considered to create false competition with commercial landlords. The countries chose different ways out of this problem. The Netherlands choose to direct state aid to a specified target group and had to introduce income limits for dwellings owned by housing associations. Sweden instead chose to change the law regulating municipal housing companies and demands that these companies should act in a businesslike way' and with that aims to create a level playing field. This paper will describe why the two countries chose different options, the development during the first years, and also speculate about the consequences on the longer run and the future role of the public/social housing sector in housing and urban policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review concerns housing equity and the way it is used as a pension, across the member states of the European Union. Its starting point is a correlation between trends over time in home ownership rates and ageing populations. It is not primarily about the role of governments or of financial institutions, but rather identifies existing evidence about how European households, in aggregate and as individuals, have used home ownership as a contribution to meeting income needs in old age. The review mainly draws on studies written in English and based empirically on more than one country. As the current literature, it is geographically skewed so that conclusions about Europe in its entirety are limited. Nevertheless, an overall conclusion is that housing equity has had a significant influence on the income of older Europeans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Societies are trying to cope with ageing and the consequences of the global financial crisis. In most societies collective welfare arrangements for the elderly are under pressure, and drawing on housing equity can be considered as a potential source of augmenting one's pension and financing one's care in old age. This article explores the way in which housing equity is perceived as a financial back-up for old age in Hungary and the Netherlands: two completely different contexts. Hungary and the Netherlands are at opposite poles in many respects when it comes to old age and the role of owner-occupation. In Hungary the large majority of the population is owner-occupier, in the Netherlands the proportion is much smaller. In Hungary most home owners are outright owners; in the Netherlands they invariably have a mortgage. These differences appear to impact on household strategies. In Hungary housing equity plays a key role in the financial strategies of families, whereas it plays only a minor role in the Netherlands. Moving to the rental sector to release housing equity appears an obvious strategy in the Netherlands, whereas this strategy is non-existent in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors provides an overview of the developments in ageing, home ownership and pensions in Europe. The authors suggest that building housing equity through home ownership is the thing to do in countries including Hungary and Portugal because it is common in other European countries. The introduce the DEMographic change and HOusing Wealth (DEMHOW) project for the European commission and the role of housing wealth in household strategies.

The economic life-cycle model assumes that households spread their income as well as possible over the life cycle (Deaton, 1992). They accumulate wealth throughout the life cycle and decumulate in old age. To date, however, results have shown that households tend to treat housing wealth different from other types of wealth. How can this be explained? Are people poorly informed, do they face practical restrictions or might they have other rationalities? This contribution demonstrates that choice that may seem irrational in the perspective of the life-cycle theory, appear rather rational when you take into account the formal and informal institutions in a country. To unravel the role of formal and informal institutions in people's choices, comparative qualitative research is of great value. The basic life-cycle model is a typical example of a universalistic model, which assumes that the rational foresighted consumer will distribute income and expenditures smoothly over the life cycle, regardless of institutional context. This approach facilitates the comparison of countries, as it is the rational agent that matters and rational agents are the same in all countries. In this contribution the life-cycle model (LCM) theory is taken as a case study to explain how qualitative comparative research can contribute to explaining why people do not act as this theory expects and why they behave as they do. We assume that contexts matter for households. Fiscal policies, housing policies and welfare-state arrangements (formal institutions) influence consumer behaviour, as do values, norms (informal institutions), in other words rationality is bounded by institutions (Hantrais, 2009; Kato, 1996). This contribution focuses on the role of institutions in this debate, drawing upon an example of a comparative housing study. The results demonstrate that comparative qualitative housing research helps to explain why households do not act according to the life cycle in the case of housing equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to make a contribution to the debate about the meaning of competition as applied to social housing and the usefulness of a competitive paradigm as a comparative analytical tool. Social housing providers have been asked to become more competitive and more market orientated in Europe. But what exactly do these terms mean and what are the defining features of competitiveness? And how can concepts of competition be applied to social housing, given that social housing is not allocated by price and market demand? Starting in mainstream economic analysis the meaning of competition and governments' roles in relation to competition are examined. The paper then applies key features of competition to social housing in order to explore the meaning of competition within social housing and between social housing and market housing. It then considers competition as a framework for examining the performance of social housing systems and the relationships between social and market rental housing. The possible implications of (more) competition within social housing and between social housing and market housing are discussed. Finally, the paper suggests that the competitive paradigm can be useful in comparative analysis because it can potentially supply a graded taxonomy that identifies and compares degrees of competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Teorija in Praksa is the property of Teorija in Praksa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Encouraging home ownership is an important aim of housing policy in many countries. It is supposed to have positive effects on individual households and on society as a whole. This article focuses on the effect of home ownership on former tenants of social rented housing in the Netherlands. The central issue is whether becoming a home owner increases one 's sense of freedom and security in the home, one 's sense of control over one 's life, and one 's self-esteem. In other words, to what extent is buying a house a way of empowering individuals and households? Many Dutch housing associations are currently devising sale policies with the aim of empowering their tenants and providing more freedom of choice. We present the results of telephone surveys of 535 Dutch former tenants who bought their social rented dwelling and 602 others who decided not to buy their dwelling. The main question is: to what extent do these two groups differ in their scores on empowerment scales based on earlier research. Scales of 'perceived control over life', 'self-esteem' and 'housing-related empowerment' were adapted and measured among respondents of both groups. The results show that tenants who became home owners score higher on the control scale than tenants, but this difference can be explained by other background variables. Moreover, home owners score higher on the scale of housing-related empowerment, but lower on the scale of self-esteem, net of other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, homeownership has become increasingly important as a financial asset used for welfare needs, particularly during old age. It has been suggested that other European countries will follow the example of the UK. Traditionally, homeownership has been regarded positively because of the low housing expenses associated with outright ownership and the financial benefit of having a nest-egg that can be released, if needed, by selling. New mortgage equity release products reduce liquidity constraints and are regarded as promising in the context of changing welfare states. This research focuses on household strategies. It finds that housing assets play a role in households' financial planning in all countries within the study, particularly where welfare levels are low or decreasing. Homeownership was used in the traditional way in all countries, but it is only in the UK that households have adopted mortgage equity release products to cash in their housing equity for welfare needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to promote efficiency and consumer choice, many governments in Europe have in recent years required social housing organisations to be more market-orientated and competitive. Competition, however, is being discussed and implemented without any detailed examination of what is meant by the term 'competition' outside a conventional 'market', as is the case in social housing. It is not clear what exactly is meant by competition and this paper therefore focuses on the question of how competition can be operationalised and how it can be measured in practice. This paper concentrates on social housing in England and the Netherlands: two countries where competition in social housing is an issue. These two countries also have different social housing models. For both countries, we build on an evaluative framework based on the economic concepts of rivalry, risk and choice and then analyse the data to establish whether competition can be measured in a convincing way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban renewal in the Netherlands has become a matter of ‘networking’. Housing associations, Dutch social landlords, became financially independent in the 1990s and have a responsibility in urban renewal. It is a joint responsibility in which local authority, social landlord and tenants are dependent on each other. This situation is rather new and needs some getting used to, as the two case studies show. The paper concludes that taking account of the complexity of networks could improve the chances of gaining support for problem definitions and solutions. This would result in agreement about goals and win–win package deals for actors, and ultimately in ‘more’ progress in urban renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade there has been a significant growth in comparative, cross-national research and recognition of its potential significance in responding to globalisation pressures. A range of methodological approaches have been documented. However, whilst a growing literature exists on undertaking comparative research generally, less has been published on the experiences of undertaking qualitative research in a cross-national context, particularly in social and housing policy. Qualitative research provides opportunities to gain more detailed understandings of behaviour, attitudes and experiences across countries, but it also raises some of the greatest challenges with respect to interpreting data. This article utilises an eight nation study on housing security and insecurity to make transparent some of the key issues raised in qualitative, cross-national work, including the selection of locations and interviewees, interviewing and analysing material within an institutional context. It argues that further critical sharing of research accounts is required in this important area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the role of government mortgage guarantee schemes in housing policy. It explores different types of government mortgage guarantee scheme, which play different roles, in eight countries. Mortgage guarantee schemes interfere in the mortgage market in order to improve access to mortgages. Such guarantees can be shaped as self-supporting instruments or as subsidies. If the latter is the case the issue of competition and a level playing field is relevant. This paper explores the US and the Dutch guarantee models in depth in order to answer the question of whether these schemes are unsubsidised mortgage market instruments or subsidised programmes. It concludes by reflecting on the meaning of the outcomes in the context of EU competition policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The private rental sector has been declining in many European countries. In describing the decline of the private rental sector, it is often suggested that a causal relationship exists between the decrease in private renting and rent control. The assumption is that the stricter the form of rent control, the greater the decrease in private renting levels. Or, conversely, that with fewer rent controls there are more opportunities for the private rental sector. At the same time, however, an unregulated rental market may result in insecurity for tenants. This text focuses on conflicts of interest between private landlords and tenants in the regulation of rents, from a welfare economics viewpoint. We present the results of a comparative study that involves France, England, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. We describe the system of rent regulation in each country. We conclude that the balance achieved between landlords and tenants as a result of rent regulation may not be as clear-cut as it is often presented to be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the application of the concept of competition to social housing in Europe. A distinction is made between competition amongst social housing suppliers and between social housing organisations and commercial suppliers of housing. The competitiveness of social housing is examined using evidence mainly from England and the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social rental housing has once again captured a strong position on the Dutch political agenda. This has happened especially since the European Commission sent a letter to the Dutch government indicating that the Dutch social rental sector was not considered EU-proof from the viewpoint of the European Union's competition policy. The letter coincided with criticisms from Dutch politicians that housing associations had not been performing well enough for some time, given their abundant resources. However, in an international context, the Dutch social rental sector is often regarded as a good system for providing affordable housing to those who need it, without the sector being marginalized and stigmatized. Jim Kemeny has classified this market as one in which the social rental sector in due course competes with the private rental sector on equal or almost equal terms as a unitary rental market. The starting point of this paper is whether the achievement of a unitary rental sector is threatened by the EU's competition policy. It will also discuss two other possible threats to the future of the Dutch unitary rental market: the threat to take surplus capital away from housing associations and have government decide on what to invest; and the attractiveness of home-ownership to households. We conclude that the character of the Dutch unitary rental sector is indeed under threat, although mostly by stealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home ownership sectors in most European countries have experienced growth in recent decades and by the mid-1990s the majority of EU15 households were home owners. While a great deal of attention has been paid to the rise in home ownership per se, the extent to which households in different EU member states strategize about the positive and negative risks of home ownership, particularly in relation to other risks in their lives, has not been researched. Contemporary debate suggests that society is a riskier one than in earlier times and home owners face a number of risks associated with changes in labour markets and national social security systems. This paper draws on interviews with households across eight European member states and examines households' perceptions of the security and insecurity aspects of home ownership and their responses to perceived risk. The analysis suggests that respondents' views are shaped by a wide range of factors, including at least to some extent the institutional context. Overall, however, respondents tended not to perceive negative risks and demonstrated a strong belief in the security aspects of home ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the experience of households in two adjacent countries, Germany and the Netherlands, both of which have relatively modest levels of home ownership but significantly different housing systems. Population growth is slowing down in Germany, while it is still increasing in the Netherlands. German house prices are stable while Dutch prices have been rising considerably for 25 years now. The central question is whether people in these two different contexts, which are both faced with globalization and social security reforms, have similar perceptions of the securities and insecurities of home ownership. The paper is based on institutional studies and 20 interviews among home owners and ten interviews among tenants in both countries. The central issues here are the perceptions of (in)security and equity. The paper concludes that in both countries home ownership is perceived as a nest-egg and a 'pension in stone'. However, it is also associated with insecurity. In Germany many households saw house prices as a source of insecurity. This can be explained by strong fluctuations in house prices in Germany and the fear that the declining population might adversely affect the situation and hence the 'pension in stone'. In the Netherlands a policy change - particularly a change in tax relief for mortgage-holders - was the main worry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 15 years Dutch housing associations have undergone a transformation from strictly regulated and heavily subsidized organizations to financially and administratively independent enterprises. This transformation has sparked a lively debate on regulation and the role of the government in social housing. There is a broad consensus that something needs to be done about the operations of housing associations in the Netherlands. Hence, their position and performance are a current topic of discussion in the Dutch Parliament. In this paper we examine public management from a network perspective. We envisage the policy environment as a network of players and explore three key concepts: "multiformity", "closed-ness" and "interdependence". The government is not the dominant party in this scenario, but one of several players with their own specific goals and resources. To be sure of a good performance, instruments of governance need to be in tune with the characteristics of the network. This paper discusses the instruments applied in the Dutch social housing network and uses the results of a case study in The Hague to illustrate the efficacy of the network perspective in social housing analyses and to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the current governance structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safeguarding the affordability of, and thereby access to, housing is a key issue in housing policies across Europe. Housing allowance schemes have become a more important tool in pursuit of this aim in many countries during the past few decades. This themed issue reports on developments and dilemmas concerning housing allowance schemes in five countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the recent Housing Memorandum ( MVROM, 2000 ), Dutch housing associations are expected to actively improve the control of tenants over their dwellings and their living environment and offer them more possibilities to choose their own type of tenure. Before the publication of the Memorandum, associations had already developed various innovative types of tenure, for example fixed rent contracts, tenant maintenance programmes and different forms of sale with discounts and risk-reducing conditions. With the introduction of these tenures, associations aim to contribute to their social objectives by improving tenants' satisfaction with their dwellings and to improve the market position of their stock as well. Our paper discusses innovative types of tenure that have been developed by the Dutch housing associations and their benefits and risks for tenant and landlord. We focus on the 'Client's Choice' programme that has been developed by the association WoonbronMaasoevers, which is recognised as a front-runner in offering households a wide range of choice in tenure and which is also illustrative of many of the benefits and risks of the innovative tenures. We conclude that many of the innovative tenures, including the Client's Choice programme, can contribute to tenant empowerment and freedom of choice. However, low-income households will mostly have to keep relying on (social) rented housing and other forms of empowerment. For the landlord, the Client's Choice programme has the benefit of increasing cash flow, which can be used for (social) housing investments. However, there are also substantial financial risks, concerning the rate of sales, the development of market values and the potential costs of having to buy back all the dwellings at the end of their economic lifespan. Thus, the implementation of the Client's Choice programme on a large scale should be accompanied by measures to control or provide for these risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]