Housing Construction in the Transition Period: Slovenia's Non-starter Situation

Abstract

Notwithstanding the failures of the previous socialist government with regard to housing provision, the level of public housing construction achieved in Slovenia in the period of highest production during the 1970s and 1980s is, nonetheless, significant. The average number of completions per month in 1975, for example,exceeded the 1994 annual total by approximately 275 housing units. The changes brought about by the new political and socio-economic systems introduced after Slovenia achieved independence from the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991 which included, inter alia, the reform of the housing finance system, have led to great anomalies in the provision of housing, particularly in the public sector. This paper discusses current housing construction policy in Slovenia, analyses past construction activity and identifies, on the basis of research and empirical observations,the major factors that have influenced the implementation (mostly failures) of housing construction programmes during the transition period. Finally, it suggests that the government has so far failed to introduce the mechanisms urgently required to ensure the successful implementation of the new housing policy objectives.