Housing Deprivation in Europe: On the Role of Rental Tenure Types

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the link between housing tenure types and housing deprivation in 26 European countries. Empirical analyses are based on European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2007, enabling comparisons of deprivation across a large set of countries. A multilevel framework is employed. It is hypothesized that the organization of the rental sector inherently produces different housing market dynamics, which is likely to affect housing deprivation rates. An integrated rental sector covering broader parts of the population is expected to reduce the risk of housing deprivation. Housing deprivation is measured in terms of experiencing overcrowding and while also suffering any of the following accommodation problems: a leaking roof; no bath/shower; no indoor toilet; or a dwelling considered too dark. The findings indicate a negative association between the size of the rental sector and the prevalence of housing deprivation. The organization of the rental sector appears crucial and only an integrated rental sector encompassing broader parts of the population significantly reduces the prevalence of housing deprivation and its components. This association is robust in terms of confounding factors at the individual-level and central country-level contextual variables.