Overcrowding and ‘under-occupancy’ a case study of housing polarization in Romania Dr Adriana M Soaita Centre for Housing Research, University of St Andrews A different version of this paper is forthcoming in Environment and Planning A

What are the scale and the severity of overcrowding and ‘under-occupancy’, particularly in the communist estates & post-communist suburban housing? How do residents perceive their space standards and when do these qualify as overcrowding or under-occupancy? A different version of this paper is forthcoming in Environment and Planning A

Focus on: Dwellers Dwellings severely overcrowded versus unoccupied mismatch between dwelling & household size

Dwellings severely overcrowded versus unoccupied mismatch between dwelling & household size Dwellers homelessness, unconventional tenures, renting, homeownership, multiple-ownership need, lifestyle, life-course life-cycle socioeconomic inequality Focus on:

Dwellings severely overcrowded versus unoccupied mismatch between dwelling & household size Focus on: Descriptive: No units/1000; Vacancy; Rooms/area per person. Normative: Bedroom Standard (BS); Statutory Standards (SSOS). Empirical: Resident/dweller perspectives Dwellers homelessness, unconventional tenures, renting, homeownership, multiple-ownership need, lifestyle, life-course life-cycle socioeconomic inequality

Space consumption = F (a and b) a)the availability & characteristics of the historic & newly built housing stock at any one time and place b)households’ ability to access it accordingly to their particular socioeconomic & demographic characteristics and preferences Communist legacies & post-communist reforms

Figure 1. Occupied dwellings by no of rooms in 2010 (%)

Figure 2. Overcrowded population, BS 2010 (%)

14%11% Figure 3. Current housing stock by construction period (2009) Communist-built housing: 75%

Figure 4. Housing stock by housing types & no rooms (2002)

Statutory Space & Occupancy Standards (1992,Housing Act) Figure 5. Housing occupancy: urban-rural ( )

Statutory Space & Occupancy Standards (1992,Housing Act) Figure 6. Housing occupancy by dwelling size ( )

No rooms by household size (%) Area by household size (%)

No rooms by household size (%) Area by household size (%) Severe overcrowding: This dwelling, which inappropriately we call ‘home’, is no more than 35m 2, has one bedroom. The layout is completely inapt, wagon-style, its living room – as we indulgently call it – is just 4 by 3 metres. Awfully undersized! When our child was born, we discovered its functional faults. Imagine a child who must pass through your room to get to the bathroom, or you through his room. We felt pressured by the scarcity of living space, by the paucity of human-like living conditions. But we endured it Male, 54, 2 persons, 1 bedroom

No rooms by household size (%) Area by household size (%) Difficult but tolerable overcrowding Our children had to stay with us but we each have separate bedroom. I personally take pride that they are not dissatisfied with this. We try not to disturb each other, everyone minds one’s own business. Yet, how can we not step on each other’s toes when we collate in one bathroom? Male, 68, 5 persons, 3 bedrooms

No rooms by household size (%) Area by household size (%) Shortage of space Rooms are satisfactory large, although, if just a little bit larger... I had a space problem when I bought my bike, I just had no space to put it! Practically even my washing machine was hard to fit! I am not married, that’s why the space seems enough. Male, 47, 1 person, 1 bedroom

No rooms by household size (%) Area by household size (%) Comfortable lifestyle I took my children few times to the house and they said ‘what is this, mum? This is the house you told us about? But mum, this is not a house, it is a block!’ I said ‘Yes, indeed’ ‘But mum, is it as big as our block?’ ’Darling, it’s half our block!’ ‘Mum, how many rooms we will have? Each one a room?’ I said, yes, darling. ‘Oh, only one room in this huge house? Will grand-ma’ stay with us?’ Yes, she will. ‘Will she have many rooms?’ Yes, she will have many rooms! Female, 33, 5 persons, over 300m 2

No rooms by household size (%) Area by household size (%) Under-occupancy Every space is huge! A hallway of 50 m 2, a living room of 60 m 2 ! I was coming from a two bedroom flat of 46m. 2 An aberration! Do you know how much it costs me to heat? The architect should have told me ‘buddy, you’re crazy’! What shall we do now? It became a too big a load, a load we cannot carry! Couple 55/ 59, 3 persons, over 500m 2

Housing mobility: Blocks: shortage of space gives no incentives Houses: passive strategy to downsize seasonally Unidirectional: from blocks to houses Policy recommendations: Bring vacant stock into the (rental) market Facilitate stock adaptation & residential mobility Stimulate new housing provision Conclusions:

Thank you