Social Housing Policy in Sweden – from an Alternative to Mainsteam Lena Magnusson Turner Institute for Housing and Urban Research Uppsala University, Sweden

Overview  Housing policy in Sweden  Public housing  Public or social – who are the tenants  Conversion of public housing to cooperative housing - consequences

Housing policy in Sweden – the basic ides‘ from 1940´  Phase-out housing shortage  Increase housing standard – good housing till everyone  Public housing as dominating tenure form  Strong municipalities

Housing policy after 1990  1990’ – housing policy division  Financial policy  Decreased subsidies  More market oriented  Social housing policy – prestige word  Reasonable housing costs  Good and equal housing standard  Integration and social rights

Developments in housing policy in Sweden  More selective  More demand oriented  More on market terms

Subsidy-Tax Trends in Europe  Less tax benefits to owners  Less interest subsidies  Less allowances to households  More grants (incl. VAT reduction)  Less public/social housing, more housing associations (with grants)  Modest increased real estate taxes

Subsidies and taxes

Subsidies and allowances

New housing policy in Sweden - arguments  Subsidies phase-out  Subsidies limits competition  Increasing competition by stable condition for housing construction and owning  Increased housing construction  Increased labour participation, lower income tax, low interest rate level  Right to sell public housing  Ownership as a mean to reduce social exclusion  Rental tenure an important mean for labour market policy

New social housing policy  Guarantees from municipality for weak families  Stimuli to buy

Public housing as idée  Publicly owned houses in Sweden - a tenure form open to everyone  No closed entry – no maximum income  Compete with other types of housing  No stigma to live in public housing

Who is living in public housing in Sweden?  15 % families from poor countries (2 % OH)  10% families on social benefit (1% OH)  10% single mothers(5% OH)  10% fifth quintile (25% OH)

Changes on the housing market  Tenure conversion – sale of municipal housing  Inner city and suburb  Decreasing production of affordable housing  Only for sale  What will happen with vulnerable families?  A large group in public housing  Especially in metropolitan areas  Remaining – social housing

Thank you for you consideration 1 million Euro Euro