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The Spanish home ownership sector has been hit hard by the economic crisis. Repossessions stand at around half a million in the period from 2008 to 2014. This article investigates how the authorities, both at the level of the Spanish state and of the autonomous communities (regions), have responded to this problem. We investigated whether they assist troubled home owners and aim to design a less risky housing system, with more (social) rental housing. Our research in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Andalusia shows that Autonomous Communities are playing an increasingly important role in this matter. This finding fits well with theories on the formation of regional varieties of welfare, which indicate that flaws of the central governments in providing social welfare, are increasingly addressed by regions. The Basque Country seems to be on the way of designing the most comprehensive system of housing policies of the three regions, including a strong Right to Housing. All three regions regard the mobilisation of the large vacant dwelling stock as an important means to provide more affordable rental housing. However, the owners are often unwilling and the three regions have proposed drastic measures, such as fines and even temporary expropriations. The central government resists such measures, because they might interfere with the proper working of the country's financial system. It shows that certain policy competences can never be totally isolated from other policy fields and multi-level distribution of competences makes it all the more complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom holds that South African housing policy is mainly based on neoliberal principles although some scholars have noted the hybrid nature of welfare programmes. This is because most authors interpret the country’s housing landscape within the dichotomous framework of political economic theory (neoliberalism vs. critical lenses). These analyses do not consider welfare state theories, and most authors end up applying a neoliberal label to South African housing policy and practice. In contrast, this study takes a welfare state perspective. It starts off with a description of Esping-Andersen’s welfare state theory and Hoekstra’s application of this theory to the field of housing, resulting in a housing system typology that distinguishes between social democratic, corporatist and liberal housing systems. In the second part of the study, the post-apartheid development of South African housing policy is reinterpreted through the lens of this housing system typology. Our conclusion is that the South African housing system is of a hybrid nature and that the social democratic, corporatist and liberal welfare state ideologies have all helped to shape the country’s approach to housing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Dutch social rental sector is known for its large size and its broad target group. It houses not only lower income groups, but also households with a middle or higher income. However, recent regulations have restricted access to the social rental sector for middle-income households (gross annual income above €34,229). This paper explores the housing market effects of this new policy. It shows that many middle-income households have in fact few alternative housing market options, since affordable homeownership and private rental sector dwellings are in short supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current data from South European countries, especially Malta, indicates the existence of some contradictory forces in the housing market that defy the law of supply and demand and require explanation. In a 'normal' housing market, it can be expected that a high dwelling vacancy rate would help keep down the price of housing. In Malta, however, both the vacancy rate and housing prices have been rising in tandem for decades, unabated, even under the recent international market crunch. The government housing policy, which has always stimulated homeownership, is still encouraging new house building. Despite the high number (over 50,000) of vacant dwellings, the authorities issue more than 6,000 building permits annually to the private sector. In this paper we outline and explain the major factors contributing to this unlikely combination. Doing so, we use a welfare-state perspective. We identify and explain the underlying factors that are collectively responsible for such a paradox: the state; the family; the powerful Catholic Church; the underdeveloped Maltese financial market; and the paternalistic culture prevalent in Malta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Dutch housing policies seem quite developed in terms of money and instruments, the Dutch housing market is not functioning effectively. Housing shortages are prevalent in areas of economic growth, property prices are high, and substantial segments of the population are experiencing accessibility and affordability problems. We think that this is partly due to the fact that the current Dutch housing policy is inconsistent and ineffective. The government provides strong support for the demand for housing (via mortgage interest relief for owner-occupiers and rent allowances for tenants) but, at the same time, it is enforcing regulations and planning restrictions that are hampering the production of housing. Furthermore, the rent allowance is means-tested whereas owner-occupiers from all income groups are eligible for fiscal support. This creates a gap between the rental sector and the owner-occupier sector and obstructs movement between the two. In order to tackle these problems, the VROM-council - an advisory body to the Dutch government - has submitted proposals for a major reform of Dutch housing policy. This paper describes the analysis and the reform proposals in the VROM-council's report to which the authors of this paper contributed. The last Section of the paper also addresses the political context in which the report was presented. This context is relevant because housing policy reforms are a politically very sensitive issue in the Netherlands, as in most other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the housing allocation system in Netherlands with that of Ireland, Spain, Great Britain and Germany. An overview of the housing allocation policy in Netherlands is provided. A discussion of the housing allocation process under the distribution model and deft allocation model is presented. The composition of the housing stock in each of the countries is explained.

Worldwide, housing is increasingly unaffordable for young people, many of whom rely on intergenerational transfers of assets to enter home ownership. This paper aims to qualitatively analyze the impacts of the welfare state and family reciprocity on young people's opportunity to access home ownership. Evidence from in-depth interviews with parents and young adults from Chongqing, Southwest China, shows that intergenerational transfers play an indispensable role in young people's opportunity to access home ownership. Such transfers are mainly motivated by the expectation of generalized reciprocity for old age care. The welfare state plays a role by lessening the pressure of unwanted reciprocity. Families with a local urban background, who tend to have more access to public welfare due to China's dualist welfare system, are less eager to invest in intergenerational transfers or expect less reciprocity if they are transferred. We argue that policies that encourage homeownership and that restrict social rental housing will put pressures on families and could potentially offset the policy intentions to improve the fertility rate and labor force participation. • Reciprocity motivates intergenerational transfers over children's home. • Rural parents eager to help in children's home purchase, but barely able • Urban parents provide transfers as a favor. • Limited welfare state and housing tenure bias encourages intergenerational transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A perusal of the literature on housing debates reveals that the term 'value' is mostly applied to express the financial value of a house and is dealt with in economic literature. However, an alternative meaning of the word 'value' in the housing literature can be found in research into the values underlying housing preferences, applying research methods from the marketing literature. The explicit combination of moral values and housing policy and design is found neither in the academic housing nor in the philosophical literature. However, diving deeper into the housing debate reveals that there are a host of moral values already present throughout this debate that are often not explicitly articulated and explicated, such as inclusiveness, sustainability, autonomy, and security. The aim of this paper is to address the role of values in housing policy and design. By doing so, we apply the Design for Values approach (DfV). We argue that the DfV approach can help to make implicit moral values more explicit, which can improve the housing debate, housing policy-making, and housing design. The paper first explores which values are relevant for housing policy and design and operationalizes those values. Next, the paper describes key debates in housing such as: What is "adequate housing" in times of rapid urbanization and increasing house prices? We argue that by exploring the underlying values of these debates, stakeholders can create a better understanding of the current (lack of) fundamental discussions on housing issues [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]