1. Monstrous Hybrids? Housing Systems in the UK and Sweden

2. Outline Context Welfare Regimes Changes in Swedish housing policy UK Some reflections

3. Context Comparative analysis of supported housing Older people, young homeless and people with health problems UK and Sweden Overall comparison Challenged my historical preconceptions Set off some general thoughts about the nature of housing systems and the neo-liberal assault

4. Welfare Regimes Esping-Anderson Divergence rather than convergence Importance of political choice Sweden - social democratic UK - liberal

5. Social Democratic Sweden (pre 1990) Tenure neutral and generous supply side subsidy system Strong public rental through Municipal Housing Companies with collective management Unitary rental system (led by public sector eg rent levels and allocations) Corporatist (rent setting) Co-operative sector in apartments with collective management and no profits

6. Changes since 1990s Marketisation of co-operative sector Occupiers get benefit of increase in prices Growth of owner-occupation Scrapping of subsidies (except for MITR) Cutting of housing allowances – rising rents So no longer tenure neutral Marketisation of MHCs (EU regs: normal rate of return) Privatisation of social housing Need allocations of tenancies changed to waiting time

7. Monstrous Hybrid? Rent setting (still union bargaining) De facto rent control Allocations (municipal exchanges) Homelessness (staircase model with no legal structure)

8. Impact Affordability issues in owner-occupation (and in renting for vulnerable people) Shortage of rental housing with little new supply Problem of access to rented housing for immigrants and new households Segregation Homelessness (temporary housing) Solution - Deregulate private renting?

9. UK a Monstrous Hybrid? More market based system Institutionally ill adapted PRS Subsidized social renting Planning system for supply

10. Impact Affordability issues Lack of overall supply Little new investment in PRS Difficulties of access for new households Solution – deregulate planning system

11. Similar? Strong Swedish municipalities Public expenditure as % of GDP Sweden 28.2 / UK 23.9 Social expenditure per head Sweden $11,134 / UK $8,365 Gini Sweden 0.341 (10) / UK 0.269 (28 out of 34)

12. Some Reflections How on earth did we get here? Importance of Path dependence Power of neo-liberal discourse (always policy focus on what is left of state involvement) Will this deliver? Need to re-invent state involvement (Judt) rather relying on what is left Why and how intervene?