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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]

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]