Social Housing Provision Research Articles

The Queen Catherine Court Slum Clearance Scheme: A Turning Point in the History of Social Housing in London

Maps provide a valuable resource to historians and genealogists, but the neat rows of compact houses in the courtyard of the Queen Catherine pub in Ratcliff, home to four of my Irish great-great-grandparents, only hint at the living conditions of its occupants. This article draws together evidence from newspapers, archival sources, censuses, and other genealogical records to provide a conjectural reconstruction of Queen Catherine Court. The overdevelopment and overcrowding of the site resulted in it being declared unfit for human habitation in 1888, but owing to decades of laissez-faire ideology and fragmented local government, slum clearance and the provision of social housing in London had been beset by intractable problems. A flagship project of the London County Council, the Queen Catherine Court scheme was finally brought to completion in 1903 by Stepney Borough Council, marking a first in the capital's history of social housing.

Housing and Papering Over the Cracks of the Welfare State: Exploring the Role and Impact of Technology as Part of Housing Service Provision in an Era of Multi-level Precarity

The UK welfare landscape is increasingly challenging due to ongoing austerity involving public sector cuts, service retrenchment, and withdrawal of statutory responsibilities. This article shows that as the welfare state contracts, precarity increases and responsibility for service provision is progressively devolved to front-line individuals and service users. To illustrate, the article examines the use of assistive and everyday technologies to improve social housing residents’ quality of life based on a longitudinal mixed methods study conducted between 2020 and 2022. The findings highlight how housing providers can support person-led technology interventions for older residents, where minor improvements positively impact day-to-day living. However, interventions are often limited by practicalities, capacity, and cost. This article connects technological engagement in housing to the ongoing ‘responsibilisation’ of many areas of housing provision to social landlords and tenants. This suggests an extension of responsibility where social housing providers are papering over the cracks in the welfare state.

Urban sustainability in social housing environments: A spatial impact assessment in Bogotá, Colombia

As cities adapt to the challenges of rapid urbanization, sustainable development goals, and post-pandemic realities, understanding the intricacies of urban sustainability is vital. This study presents a spatial impact assessment of urban sustainability, focusing on the distinctive requirements of social housing urban environments in Bogota, Colombia. By contextualizing this study in the ever-evolving post-pandemic paradigm, it depicts the current conditions of the city towards future development scenarios. The sustainability assessment relies on a set of 11 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), emphasizing the particular needs of social housing and offering a comprehensive analysis that links the conditions of the urban environment, environmental quality, and social well-being, all under the umbrella of Sustainable Development Goal 11. Specific spatial analysis using GIS tools (e.g. spatial interpolation, network analysis, multispectral imagery analysis), statistical analysis, and data engineering were employed to evaluate the selected KPIs. This evaluation revealed distinct spatial patterns of socioeconomic inequity, primarily impacting areas with a higher concentration of social housing within the city. These findings highlight critical areas requiring strategic attention to promote the city's sustainability transition. Key insights indicate that areas lacking sufficient access to green spaces and essential urban services, alongside higher pollution levels, are associated with lower social well-being, reduced perceptions of security, and are characterized by high population density and a significant presence of social housing. These results, available on an interactive web-GIS app, underscore the imperative for policies and planning that not only address the provision of social housing but also ensure a sustainable built environment, shaping a sustainable, inclusive, safe, and resilient future. The methodology and insights presented in this study are also applicable and scalable to similar urban contexts globally.

Sustaining tenancies by ‘caring-with’: care ethics in social housing tenancy management

ABSTRACT This article contributes to scholarship that conceptualises housing, particularly social housing, as an infrastructure of care. Care for people with housing needs that cannot be met in the private market is shaped through the provision of social housing, and social housing can also be a site for caring (and careless) practices and relations. Using qualitative data gathered in interviews with tenancy managers at one of the largest social housing providers in Victoria, I argue that tenancy management must be understood as an integral pillar of the caring infrastructure social housing can provide. Tenancy managers who participated in this study understood tenancy management in social housing as a caring practice. They described their role as oriented around sustaining the tenancies of people with high and complex support needs who would otherwise be at high risk of homelessness. However, tenancy managers also faced consistent barriers to the enactment of tenancy-sustainment-as-care, which emerged when caring relationships between the actors involved in sustaining a tenancy broke down. This paper focuses on their experiences of overcoming barriers, resolving conflicts, and successfully sustaining tenancies. The analysis shows that ‘caring-with’ – i.e., working relationally to build collaborative networks of care-givers and care-receivers – can support tenancy sustainment.

Implementing housing policies for a sufficient lifestyle

The German buildings sector is currently facing a double challenge: meeting emission reduction targets and providing affordable housing in rapidly growing cities. Living space per person has a major impact on household energy consumption and it has increased significantly in recent decades. New construction increases the demand for often energy-intensive building materials, and energy demand during the use phase of buildings is positively related to the size of the space. Optimising the allocation of living space therefore offers great potential for addressing both challenges. Sufficiency policies such as flat exchanges, a financial bonus for moving and the provision of moving advice aim to reduce the total floor area in the housing sector by using existing space more efficiently. However, the effectiveness of such measures is not yet fully understood. As the sufficiency approach relies heavily on individual choices, residents’ involvement, perception and acceptance are crucial for the success of such measures. An investigation in selected German housing companies shows that the potential of these measures is not fully exploited under the current political and social framework in Germany. Social acceptance, new norms and business models for landlords are needed for the effective use of these measures. Policy relevance How effective is the implementation of sufficiency measures for space utilisation in the German rental housing sector? The success factors and limiting barriers of the measures along with the acceptability and effectiveness of these measures are investigated by interviewing housing companies (some of them social housing providers) that have the potential to implement such policies in their housing stock. Improvements are needed in the social and technical infrastructure to increase the effectiveness of the measures. Raising awareness, rethinking communications and designing effective financial incentives are recommended to make the measures attractive to the public. Involving all stakeholders, keeping the issue on the political agenda and engaging in dialogue with policymakers are considered effective steps in the process of achieving space sufficiency in the housing sector.

Unravelling social housing exclusion. Marketization, privatization and neoliberal reforms in the Métropole européenne de Lille

The conceptualization of the neoliberalization of social housing has been largely dominated by Harloe’s models, which define it as the transition from a ‘mass’ to a ‘residual’ model. However, this definition fails to capture the emergence of ‘affordable’ housing policies. Blessing suggests instead conceptualizing neoliberalization through privatization and marketization. This definition helps analyze the focus on the diversification of the supply into mid-market rents. Drawing on mixed-method research, this paper demonstrates the relevance of Blessing’s analysis. To illustrate this, I will take the example of a large French intercommunality, which appears as non-neoliberal due to the absence of residualization. Our findings demonstrate that marketization and privatization have, however, influenced the nature of social housing provision by leading to an absolute decrease in low-rent units through demolitions and sales, and an increase in mid-market rent housing units. In conclusion, the findings emphasize the need for researchers to delve into the issue of social housing exclusion and its underlying mechanisms.

Calculating the system-wide supply impacts of social housing estate renewal: new measures and methods

Estate renewal has come to be touted as a means of improving social housing supply both qualitatively and quantitatively, replacing ageing and under-maintained dwellings and increasing the total stock of social housing. In this paper, we examine the latter claim. We develop novel measures and methods for calculating the social housing supply impacts of estate renewal, taking account of the reduction in supply caused by tenant relocations and dwelling demolitions prior to the delivery of new social housing. Using administrative data on tenant relocations and dwelling completions for three projects in Sydney, we calculate the social housing accommodation deficit caused by the renewal process, subsequently, the time required for each project to deliver more nights of accommodation than this deficit. These measures illuminate the significant impacts of estate renewal on the social housing system and problematize its justification based on gross or net social housing supply. They constitute a valuable method for examining estate renewal, wherever it may occur.

Low-barrier harm reduction and housing for older people in Vancouver’s opiate crisis: meeting people where they are

Drawing on recent case-study data, this article explores innovative practices around harm reduction and housing for older people who use drugs. Although right-wing groups call for further criminalisation of drug use, in light of extraordinarily high levels of deaths from opioid overdose in Vancouver, Canada, the provincial government has quietly permitted the development of safe supply, the testing of illegal drugs to avoid poisonings and the provision of low-barrier, inclusive and supportive social housing, including housing specifically for older people. Drawing on crisis theory, the article analyses the provision of low-barrier harm reduction services for this marginalised and highly vulnerable group of older people and reflects on what we can learn about providing supports that are needs based and strengths based and embody meeting people where they are.

Energy poverty alleviation by social housing providers: A qualitative investigation of targeted interventions in France, England, and the Netherlands

Decisions made by social housing providers (SHPs) profoundly affect their tenants' energy affordability, a group characterised by above-average energy poverty rates. Concentrated deprivation in this tenure has intensified due to policy-driven ‘residualisation’, compelling SHPs to serve almost exclusively low-income and marginalised households. Despite this, research exploring the potential of SHPs to tackle energy poverty through targeted interventions for their most vulnerable tenants remains sparse. The 2021–2022 energy price crisis offers a unique context to investigate this issue, given its substantial impact on household energy affordability. This study delves into insights of social housing professionals through focus groups conducted in France, England, and the Netherlands. It examines their views on the effectiveness of interventions and assesses their feasibility within the respective institutional contexts. We find that SHPs generally favour retrofit prioritisation and behavioural interventions as effective means of supporting at-risk tenants, whereas alterations in rent setting or housing allocation are considered potentially impactful but often undesirable or impracticable. We identify institutional barriers and lack of data as key obstacles to SHPs' adoption of more targeted interventions. To empower SHPs in tackling energy poverty, housing policy reforms must acknowledge and address the significant impact of energy costs within total housing expenses.

Intergovernmental Relations and implementation of social housing policy in Gauteng Province, South Africa

The aim of this paper is to assess intergovernmental relations in the implementation of social housing policy in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Despite all mechanisms, efforts and resources, the pace of social housing delivery is not at a point where it is measurably satisfactory across all spheres of government. The performance of government shows a lack of institutionalised arrangements, coordination, and alignment in implementing social housing policy. A mixed-methods research approach was implemented. Interviews were conducted with senior managers and research questionnaires were administered with operational staff within the national, provincial government and the three metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng Province which included City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, state agencies involved in the delivery of social housing units and municipal social housing institutions, private and non-governmental social housing entities. The data were complemented by documentary content analysis pertaining to the provision of human settlements and social housing. The paper acknowledges the role played by government in implementing social housing policy, however, it proposes a model to fast track social housing delivery in Gauteng Province.

Connection fee as a factor to ensure financial affordability of utility services for consumers

Utilities as a type of mixed public good have the characteristic of non-rivalry, that is, they must be available to the entire population without exception and all households must be able to pay for them. As a rule, such financial inclusion is achieved by providing targeted assistance to low-income families. For example, in Russia this problem is solved by a program of subsidies for housing and communal services. In various countries, other mechanisms are also used: the provision of social housing, budget subsidies for producers, price discrimination. This paper analyzes another way to reduce the financial burden for consumers of utility services, which has been used in most developed countries. It consists of shifting part of the costs of developing engineering infrastructure to future consumers through connection fees (technological connection) for capital construction projects. From the perspective of pricing theory, it is shown that connection fees can reduce the average costs of a utility company passed on to consumers of services; it is graphically illustrated how connection fees increase the financial affordability of utility services for consumers and reduce budget costs for subsidizing the payment of housing and communal services for households with low incomes.

Damp and mould—the big picture. How do we tackle the damp and mould crisis in social housing: lessons from the UK

The tragic death of 2-year-old Awaab Ishak, from extensive and prolonged exposure to damp and mould that had not been dealt with by the social landlord who owned the property, and other high profile news stories, have alerted social landlords to the damp and mould crisis in social rented homes across England. This paper discusses the findings from a 24-h knowledge exchange “Think Tank”, attended by representatives from social housing providers, charities, professional bodies, and residents from across England, to discuss how to tackle damp and mould in social housing. The event was made up of short informal presentations and group discussions in order to share good practice and develop a cross-sector understanding of damp and mould, its impacts, and how it can be tackled holistically. The event highlighted that damp and mould should firstly be seen as a building problem and that residents’ “lifestyles” should not be blamed. Tackling damp and mould should not be seen as the responsibility of one individual or department, all stakeholders need to work together to tackle the problem, ensuring tenants’ wellbeing is at the centre of every decision. Finally, damp and mould cannot be tacked in silo. Social landlords are facing a number of other major challenges, including the cost-of-living crisis, new building safety regulations, and the urgent need to decarbonise their stock. Landlords must think creatively in order to tackle these problems together and consider the big picture to ensure we are not walking towards the next housing tragedy. This paper brings together a wider contextual understanding of how the damp and mould crisis has developed in the UK, the impacts of damp and mould on residents’ physical and mental wellbeing, and the Think Tank findings, to suggest policy and practical recommendations for tackling the problem holistically.

The role of outcomes-based frameworks in social housing provision in Australia

The role of outcomes-based frameworks in social housing provision in Australia

Social Housing Contracts: Does Election Result Matter?

This study examines whether election results affect the annual number of social housing contracts in Australia, focusing on the doctrines of public entrepreneurialism and public interventionism associated with political parties. Using panel data analysis of voting rates at electorate level in Queensland State, the study finds that an increase of one standard deviation in the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) voting rate, compared to the Liberal-National Coalition, corresponds to an increase of 1.07 contracts from the mean value of 21.47. This equates to approximately a 5% increase in the number of social housing contracts managed by Queensland State. The analysis further reveals that the ALP’s voting rate has a disproportionately positive impact on the supply of social housing for indigenous communities. These findings underscore in influencing the provision of social housing and offer insightful implications for policymakers and researchers, suggesting that electoral preferences can serve as a barometer for public demand for social welfare initiatives.

영국의 임대주택 임차인 보호를 위한 법제 연구

The UK stipulates laws such as the Housing Act and the Housing Reorganization Act to ensure the stable provision and management of social housing. However, a fire incident that occurred in a high-rise apartment in the UK in 2017, where low-income people and immigrants mainly lived, served as an opportunity to reexamine potential safety problems in social housing. In particular, this case raised the need to improve the government's method of regulating social housing, as the number of victims could have been reduced if minimum safety measures had been in place. In response to this incident, a law was enacted in 2023 to improve the safety of social housing and the living environment of tenants, strengthening the role of social housing regulatory agencies. The law is expected to be a catalyst for a proactive approach to regulating social housing and taking action against landlords who do not meet standards. In this paper, analyze the main contents of the 2023 Social Housing (Regulation) Act) and introduce the provisions of the law for the protection of social housing tenants. As bills related to the management of apartment complexes and the government's bill to support joint management costs for permanent social housing are still pending in the Korea National Assembly, the UK's revised law on the facility management of apartment complexes by regulatory agencies can be used as a reference for the legislative aspect.

미국의 사회주택 공급을 위한 입법 동향에 대한 소고

Recently, as damage from rental fraud has emerged as a serious social problem, there are growing voices calling for a stronger housing security net. As an alternative, we are seeking ways to expand the supply of public rental housing, and establishing a systematic legal system to support the construction of public rental housing is a very important issue. Social housing is defined as residential rental housing allocated to achieve a purpose according to certain rules and provided below market price. It is a concept commonly used in most European countries, but recently, countries around the world are preparing different laws to provide social housing that suits their own circumstances. The United States has implemented laws to support the supply of public housing at the federal level. Recently, some state and local governments have introduced the concept of social housing and are enacting laws or ordinances to increase it as they experience rapid increases in real estate prices and serious housing shortages. The latest legislation in the United States can serve as a legislative reference in that it establishes a legal system consisting of the following four aspects on the supply side. First, a limited for-profit housing company is being established as a corporation that pursues limited profit suitable for the supply of social housing. Second, separate from the existing public housing agency, an independent agency dedicated to the provision of social housing will be established. Third, related organizations operate a revolving loan fund to raise the funds necessary for public developers to build social housing. Fourth, public developers are required to deposit a portion of the profits generated from social housing operations into a revolving loan fund and reinvest the remaining profits in social housing construction. In addition, on the demand side, beneficiaries of social housing are not limited to low-income groups but also include the middle-class.

Urban redevelopment of a new town: The case of Zoetermeer in the Netherlands

The success factors contributing to the development of Zoetermeer, a former Dutch new town, into a contemporary city include dedicated public leadership, long-term commitment from social housing providers, private developers, institutional investors, timely and transparent communication with residents and the need to act and outperform the city benchmark. Zoetermeer was designed and built as a new town close to the government centre at The Hague and celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2022. It is now home to more than 125,000 residents. For decades Zoetermeer’s growth took place in the surrounding green fields. Therefore, the existing capacity-building methodology was not fit for the purpose of the ‘brownfield’ urban redevelopment challenge. The city authorities were also reluctant to engage in pro-active real estate stakeholder leadership. Since 2017, however, RITTERWALD pan-European residential strategy consultancy has supported Zoetermeer’s urban redevelopment strategy, including leading the preparation of a 10,000+ homes Urban Development Agreement (Stadsbouwakkoord) which is now being delivered to provide mixed tenure neighbourhoods. This achievement involved educating the municipal administration in the practice of urban redevelopment, including hosting regular masterclasses with high-level public and private sector actors. How a new town grew up and reinvented itself is explored in this paper.

Historicised exploration and middle-range theoretisation of the housing regime in urban China

In comparative housing studies, the positioning of the Chinese housing regime is contested as to whether it converges to a (neo)liberal path or is a unique hybrid model. This paper argues that these disputes derive from the static and ethnocentric nature of welfare regime typologies and the inadequate political vision in explaining the housing regime in urban China. This study is dedicated to advancing the discussion with a historicised inquiry and a more holistic view of a balance of causes. The grounded theory methodology is adopted to avoid the omissions and biases of the priori knowledge. The materials analysed include 473 national policy documents, conference reports and official media reports in housing, economic, political and other related areas. We summarised three progressive stages of housing regime in the (quasi-)authoritarian and post-developing contexts, from 1) an underinvested social housing sector to reserve sufficient funds for industrialisation, 2) a real estate boom with a residualised social housing sector, to 3) enlarging social housing provision for productive groups under the overinvested and crisis-ridden real estate market. We attribute China’s housing system to the productivist feature with authoritarianism and the pursuit of nation-building and economic development in a post-developing state, with the underlying logic of capital switching.

Evaluating the impact of public housing after prison for a sex offence

This article evaluates the impact of housing assistance on the post-release pathways of people convicted of sex offences, in terms of a range of criminal justice outcomes and associated costs. Using linked administrative data from New South Wales government agencies, it compares outcomes and costs for two groups of formerly incarcerated sex offenders – one group who received public housing tenancies at some stage after their release, the other who only received private rental assistance. We find the public housing group had better criminal justice outcomes (e.g. fewer police incidents, court appearances, proven offences, days in custody and days on community-based orders) than the non-public housing group, achieved mostly at less cost to governments. The evidence, likely applicable in other jurisdictions with similar housing systems, strongly supports the increased provision of social housing to this group of ex-prisoners and, we hope, helps disarm the controversy that affects this area of policy in Australia and internationally.

Social Housing Models in Latvia and A Comparative Analysis of the EU Member States

Abstract This study examines social housing models in Latvia, comparing them with those of other member states of the European Union (EU) through comparative and document analysis methodologies. The research investigates Latvia's current social housing landscape, its historical development, and the challenges in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly. Latvia’s social housing sector, characterised by a very small share of the total housing stock and quality issues, is compared with 3–5 EU countries, focussing on funding mechanisms, target groups, and quality standards. The analysis reveals significant disparities between Latvia and other EU countries in social housing provision, with Latvia having one of the lowest incidences in the EU. Key findings include the impact of demographic trends on housing needs and the challenges posed by the ageing housing stock. The study concludes with recommendations for policy improvements and implementation strategies, contributing to the understanding of social housing dynamics in Latvia within the broader EU context and providing information for more inclusive and sustainable housing solutions.