Social Housing Provision Research Articles

Strategies of Capital Accumulation in Times of Land Scarcity. A Field Perspective on Social Housing Construction in Vienna

Recently, cities across Europe have experienced rising prices for land, construction and increasing housing costs. The question of how companies providing social housing mediate housing policies in light of increasing market challenges has been widely neglected. The article takes the case of Vienna to explore how limited-profit housing associations – the current main providers of social housing – navigate market changes. Following Bourdieu, the article employs a field approach to map the power relations governing the field of social housing construction and explore their influence on strategies for capital accumulation. Drawing on multiple correspondence analysis and qualitative interviews, the article shows that the city’s introduction of competitive tenders for building plots strengthened cultural and social capital over economic capital within the field. It provides an in-depth analysis of the market effects of housing policy instruments by locating their structuring effects in relational market configurations rather than solely focusing on housing market outcomes.

Designing and Implementing a New Seniors Services Coordinator Role for Low-Income Housing: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT Older adults living in social housing are disproportionally impacted by poverty, social isolation, and chronic health conditions that negatively impact their housing stability. In response, service coordination models of care that provide proactive case management have seen widespread adoption across low-income seniors housing communities. We examined the design and implementation of a new “seniors services coordinator” (SSC) role that was introduced by a social housing provider in Toronto, Canada. We conducted qualitative focus groups with tenants (n = 16), housing and policy staff (n = 16), and government-funded care coordinators (n = 16) to understand how the new SSC position formed relationships with tenants, assessed tenant needs and coordinated services, and built partnerships with government-funded system navigators. Since staff were assigned to specific buildings and had smaller caseloads, stakeholders felt that the SSC would be well positioned to build relationships of trust with tenants. Histories of mistrust, boundaries and time management, role conflicts, and system-level barriers, however, made it difficult for SSCs to fully carry out their role. Our findings highlight several design and implementation considerations that may impact the success of tenant-facing support staff such as SSCs, which can serve as a roadmap for other housing providers looking to implement similar initiatives.

Delivering human-centred housing: understanding the role of post-occupancy evaluation and customer feedback in traditional and innovative social housebuilding in England

Housing shortages and construction delays characterize the current UK housing crisis, and housing need is not met. Modern methods of construction (MMC) are put forward as a solution to ensure quicker, safer, and greener delivery of new homes and are supported by the government, especially in the social housing sector. The paper explores the post-occupancy evaluation mechanisms used by housing associations delivering homes with traditional and MMC approaches. It argues that, alongside the digital and offsite transformation of housebuilding, the industry needs to reconsider the way customer feedback is collected and what purposes it serves. The paper argues that UK housebuilding in the social housing sector can benefit from re-purposing post-occupancy evaluation (POE) from only measuring customer satisfaction and detecting defects, which is currently the case, to using it to improve housing design and construction quality. This could be done by developing a systematic learning loop from residents of previous projects to the design, development, and construction teams across the housebuilding supply chain. It could particularly benefit housing associations pioneering MMC that, as long-term asset holders of developed houses, have a vested interest in improving the quality of homes and creating a better residential experience. The accumulated knowledge of such customer-centred approaches could also inform MMC technology development and help increase its uptake. However, as the paper further discusses, there are many challenges on the way to effective POE in social housing provision, including the nature of the MMC-based housebuilding supply chain and the industry’s structural factors.

Neighbourhood rental market integration and private rent trajectories – evidence from the city of Vienna

ABSTRACT The urban housing regime in Vienna is often regarded as one of the last integrated rental markets once described by Kemeny. Thus, according to the theory, private landlords should be forced to charge lower rents due to direct competition from the social sector. This paper formally tests this hypothesis on a very local level by linking private rent trajectories across Viennese subdistricts to their housing market structure while controlling for possible effects of location, initial prices and socioeconomic variation. Indeed significant evidence for a price dampening effect is found, as higher shares of limited-profit housing within the local rental market substantially increase the probability of a subdistrict joining a lower rent development path. However, the magnitude of the effect increases considerably for more peripheral locations associated to less demand pressure. A similar relationship is found for municipal housing, but with much lower impact, most likely due to comparatively stronger entry barriers. Thus this paper concludes a price dampening neighbourhood effect which varies with the openness of the social housing supply and the centrality of the location.

The Impact of the National Housing Program on Residential Segregation in Costa Rica

Residential socio-economic segregation in Costa Rica had an overall decreasing trend between 1973 and 2011 because of a sustained reduction in the amount of lower income households. However, in 1986, the national housing program was reformed, including a ten-fold increase in housing supply (292 thousand subsidies allocated in 1987-2011, in a country with 1.36 million housing units). The pattern of these subsidies was hypothesized to increase residential segregation in Costa Rica. Segregation indices were estimated per municipality for lower and higher income groups. The impact of social housing subsidies on segregation levels was quantified using a fixed effects model with standard errors corrected for spatial dependence. Social housing supply was found to have historically reduced residential segregation; however, the 1986 reforms created a system that followed the patterns of real estate markets, in turn reducing much of the system’s mitigation effect on residential segregation.

Beyond Conditionality: Community Placemaking in Taiwanese Social Housing Management

ABSTRACT Taiwan’s social housing has concentrated on the physical provision of housing and pays little attention to questions of social inclusion in neighbourhoods. However, placemaking practices in other countries have triggered a flurry of experimentation in social housing in Taipei. We evaluate the performance of placemaking efforts aimed at enhancing tenant participation in social housing management. The rapid and selective transfer of social housing policy approaches from the West has led to problems in implementation and management. However, we found that community placemaking involving planners as facilitators fostering partnerships significantly enhances tenant participation in the provision and management of social housing.

Management controls and modern slavery risks in the building and construction industry: Lessons from an Australian social housing provider

Modern slavery presents a complex risk for organisations worldwide, with perpetrators continually adapting practices to maintain a veil of secrecy. While management controls may reduce modern slavery risks, little is known about how they optimally function across industries and organisational forms. To advance the state of knowledge, we examine an Australian not for profit housing provider using an interventionist research method. We draw on a combined conceptual framework of management controls and expectancy theory to analyse participant observations and document data collected over 24 months. Our findings show that despite constraints, the organisation reduced modern slavery risks. This outcome, informed by a social purpose within the organisation, was facilitated through the introduction and adaptation of cultural, personnel, action, and results controls. By discussing the changes this housing provider made, we add to the literature on management controls and modern slavery and provide theoretical insights into why they were adopted. We also highlight limitations in what the organisation could achieve that point to areas for future research.

시스템다이내믹스를 활용한 사회주택공급 정책 분석연구

The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively analyze the structure of social housing market and to investigate policy directions through dynamic simulation modeling. The main results are as follows. Firstly, in order for the social housing project to be implemented, financial support for the operating entity is a prerequisite. It is expected that the public will be able to play a role in lowering the barriers to entry for social housing projects through financial support. Secondly, after the social housing providers become financially stable, the focus of policy should shift from financial support to public-private cooperation. Lastly, the positive perception of social housing was not only a main factor to expand demand of the housing, but also an essential factor to prove the legitimacy of public support. Thus, efforts are needed at both policy and social structure aspects. This study is expected to be used as basic information on the direction of public-private cooperation in social housing policies.

Examining victims’ experiences of Community Protection Notices in managing anti-social behaviour

The Community Protection Notice (CPN) is a civil order designed to protect communities from anti-social behaviour (ASB) within England and Wales by addressing unreasonable and persistent conduct, which has ‘a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality’. Introduced under the ‘Putting Victims First’ agenda and the ASB, Crime and Policing Act (2014), the civil order can impose prohibitions alongside positive requirements upon any person aged 16 or over, business, or organisation. Before a CPN is issued, a Community Protection Warning (CPW) must be put in place by the police, local authority, social housing provider, or any other authorised persons with delegated power from the local authority. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that used semi-structured interviews to explore ASB victims’ experiences of CPWs/CPNs for the first time. Discussions focus upon the impact of the ASB, authorities’ responses, perceived effectiveness of CPWs/CPNs, and recommendations for change. Significant concerns emerge from the victims’ constructions of the CPN process regarding transparency, accountability, the correctability of requirements imposed, and victim involvement. The findings signify the need for an authentically restorative approach to ASB with three empirically grounded recommendations provided that account for ASB victims’ needs and vulnerabilities.

Analysis and modelling of social housing repair and maintenance costs: A UK case study

Effective use of resources for maintaining social housing has long been a common goal of public bodies across the world. However, maintenance cost data is quintessentially sensitive and thus difficult to obtain, rendering the dearth of empirical maintenance cost studies on social housing. This research investigates the complexities of repair and maintenance (R&M) associated with social housing and specifically, develops benchmark indicators for such works. The ambition being to provide a knowledge sharing analysis of costs expended that allows a social housing provider to learn from past works undertaken with a view to optimising future practice. A mixed philosophical approach is adopted that combines elements of both pragmatism and interpretivism. A case study and participant action researcher (PAR) strategy is adopted where the lead researcher is employed within a repairs and maintenance (R&M) department of a UK Housing Association. Longitudinal quantitative R&M cost data is analysed using summary statistical, regression analysis and performance statistics (to measure predictive accuracy). Focus groups are held with housing practitioners and the cross-sectional qualitative discourse is analysed using content analysis to explain emergent patterns and trends accrued form the quantitative analysis conducted. This research identified that R&M works for a UK Housing Association follow a non-parametric distribution that is heavily positively skewed. Housing Associations without sufficient planned investment will see more sporadic distributions leading to less cost certainty. Furthermore, linear regression analysis provides an accurate fit of the cumulative R&M spend with very little deviation between actual and predicted R&M costs; hence, accurate forecasting is possible for Housing Associations. Finally, the sub-categorisation of works packages has indicated that certain work packages expend greater funds (often considered as being outlier costs) than others but linear regression models did not fit all sub-categorisations accurately. This research presents a unique insight into R&M costs incurred on social housing by a UK Housing Association to provide a vignette of contemporary practice and costs incurred. The work proves useful to housing associations, contractors and policy makers who seek to optimally balance cost and service delivered for residents.

The impact of fiscal decentralization on the efficiency in social housing provision: Evidence from China

This study examines the impact mechanism of fiscal decentralization on the overall efficiency, scale efficiency, and management efficiency of social housing provision in China. We find that fiscal decentralization is negatively related to the overall efficiency and management efficiency but has no impact on scale efficiency. Further, fiscal decentralization decreases management efficiency by increasing local governments' dependence on land finance. From the point of regional heterogeneity, fiscal decentralization in the Chinese eastern region has led to a significant decrease in management efficiency while that of the middle and western regions is insignificant.

\u201cWe could be good partners if we work together\u201d: the perspectives of health and social service providers on the barriers to forming collaborative partnerships with social housing providers for older adults

BackgroundMany older adults are aging-at-home in social housing. However, the lack of integration between housing and health services makes it difficult for older tenants to access needed supports. We examined barriers and facilitators health and social service providers face providing on-site services to older tenants.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews and focus groups with health and social service professionals (n = 58) in Toronto, Canada who provide community programs in support of older tenants who live in non-profit, rent-geared-to-income social housing. Interviews examined the barriers they faced in providing on-site services to older tenants.FindingsService providers strongly believed that collaboration with on-site housing staff led to better health and housing outcomes for older tenants. Despite the recognized benefits of partnering with housing staff, service providers felt that their ability to work effectively in the building was dependent on the staff (particularly the superintendent) assigned to that building. They also identified other barriers that made it difficult to work collaboratively with the housing provider, including staffing challenges such as high staff turnover and confusion about staff roles, a lack of understanding among housing staff about the link between housing and health, challenges sharing confidential information across sectors, and complex and inefficient partnership processes.ConclusionOlder adult tenants are increasingly vulnerable and in need of supports but the housing provider has a long history of ineffective partnerships with service providers driven by complex and inefficient staffing models, and an organizational culture that questions the role of and need for partnerships. Findings highlight the need for more effective integration of housing and health services. Simplified processes for establishing partnerships with service agencies and more opportunities for communication and collaboration with housing staff would ensure that services are reaching the most vulnerable tenants.

Sustainability through Resilient Collaborative Housing Networks: A Case Study of an Australian Pop-Up Shelter

The UN Sustainable Development Goal “Sustainable Cities and Communities” foregrounds access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing. However, housing as a sector has faced significant sustainability challenges. Countries such as Australia face unaffordable house prices, bottlenecks in social housing supply, and escalating homelessness. To address these challenges, the sector has turned to traditional government-led interventions meant to influence supply and demand. We argue that alongside these traditional approaches, there is a need for multi-stakeholder collaboration in resilient networks that create novel niche solutions, one being pop-up shelters or dwellings established in vacant structures. This study’s main aim is to identify key elements of these resilient, collaborative actor–networks. We mobilise actor–network theory concepts in a qualitative case study involving one of Australia’s first pop-up shelters. Findings from semi-structured interviews suggest that resilient networks exhibit distributed leadership, the ability to selectively interrogate entrenched routines, and the ability to mobilise differentiated levels of convergence. Such resilient networks play an important role in the development of environmentally and socially sustainable housing solutions. While often ad hoc, these networks can be made systematic through the selective use of digital technologies which do not compromise the more contingent, adaptive features of networks which are critical to resilience.

Low-carbon retrofits in social housing: Energy efficiency, multidimensional energy poverty, and domestic comfort strategies in southern Europe

Social housing providers have a significant amount of influence over large housing stocks, which gives them unique opportunities to address both energy efficiency and social inclusion. However, there are significant barriers to achieving these goals in southern European contexts, where obsolete housing stocks and widespread energy poverty situations combine to create a “prebound effect”, whereby residents consume less energy than in projections of standardised patterns, thus invalidating models based on energy efficiency gains and energy production. This paper uses empirical findings from interviews with social housing providers in the metropolitan areas of Porto [Portugal] and Barcelona [Spain] to understand how this contradiction is being handled in the sector, and compares the findings with surveys of the nature and depth of energy poverty situations in a broadly defined social housing sector. Our results show that social housing providers tend to favour strategies based on retrofitting the envelopes of the buildings, and to resist installing renewable energy equipment, for which cost recoupment is near-unachievable. We argue that this focus on achieving thermal comfort by passive measures overlooks the multidimensionality of energy poverty situations in the social housing sector, with widespread practices of restrictions on cooking, lighting and DHW uses.

Investigating the potential of solar energy for low-income communities in Australia to reduce hardship, debt and inequality

Microgeneration offers potential for low-income households to access lower-priced electricity and alleviate energy poverty. This paper explores provision of small-scale photovoltaics (sPV) in community social housing, and how self-generated electricity is integrated into routines by sole parent low-income households – a cohort most vulnerable to rising electricity prices. Using a mixed methods approach, this exploratory study investigates the implications of distributed sPV for household electricity consumption, expenditure, and provision of sufficient energy services to achieve thermal comfort, improved health and wellbeing. Results are presented from an analysis of in-depth interviews with eight households in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and real-time monitoring of selected households’ electricity usage. Drawing on the concepts of co-production and value co-creation, user experiences are discussed along with the potential for reducing energy hardship and debt. Analysis shows provision of sPV technology may not lead to desired changes in the way electricity is used to reduce electricity bills, due to competing values in use. This exemplary study revealed several key technical, social and systemic challenges for tenants and social housing providers, including: constraints on self-managing energy production and consumption, weaknesses in industry/institutional processes, low engagement with the wider electricity market, and need for tailored approach for tenants to achieve better functional outcomes.

On Transforming Unused Urban Spaces to Social Housing for Self-Employed People in Ho Chi Minh City: An Architectural Space Design Proposal

As with many metropolitan areas, social housing (SH) provision, which can improve living standards and social welfare, is crucial for urban socio-economic development strategies in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). However, there have been issues relating to promoting social housing in the Vietnamese context resulting from the property market and the design. The former is a failure to attract investors. The latter relates to lacking housing models for the mid- and low-income communities. Currently, many low-income families who have low access to the general job market in HCMC have to make a living by running their own business at home. This situation leads to low-income housing establishments in some residential areas. Thus, the planning approach in social housing needs to solve both the demand for low-cost housing and promoting self-employed activities. In this paper, mixed methods, including observation, questionnaires, interviews, data aggregation, and comparison, were conducted with supporting legal conditions and corresponding operating conditions to propose appropriate designs for the SH for self-employed people in HCMC. First, observing and analyzing urban spaces helped identify the unused urban areas that solve the investment issue. Then, after studying the development of social housing in different contexts via the questionnaire and in-depth interviews, self-employed households’ basic information and their business needs in using SH spaces were identified in some districts. Then, based on the legal framework and practical projects, optimal space designs were formed.

Rehousing older social housing tenants: a mixed-methods study

BackgroundIn the context of a social housing crisis, partly caused by insufficient affordable homes, the UK must meet the housing needs of an ageing population. Rehousing schemes run by social housing providers are an important means to support older (>55 years) tenants to move to appropriate homes. Hackney Council (London, UK) runs or supports many of these schemes. This study aims to assess how well the schemes are working by exploring the processes involved and their health-related outcomes. MethodsIn this mixed-methods study, we interviewed practice-based stakeholders who work across four rehousing schemes in Hackney. A postal survey was delivered to older social housing tenants who had moved through one of the schemes. Responses to the survey questions were analysed in Excel. A photovoice component (ie, photographs taken by participants that were discussed in interviews and focus groups) of survey respondents captured their experiences of being rehoused and its health-related effects. Written consent was obtained from all participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of Cambridge School of the Humanities and Social Sciences. FindingsSince June 4, 2020, we interviewed 14 practice-based stakeholders and surveyed 798 older tenants. We had 75 (9·4%) valid responses, of which 31 respondents were women, 10 were men, and two preferred not to say (there was missing data for 32 respondents). 16 survey respondents then participated in the photovoice group. Interviews with practice-based stakeholders were analysed using NVivo (version 12) and highlighted the importance of providing personalised support to tenants. Several outcomes were reported by stakeholders, including increased social connectedness, and improved tenant wellbeing. Challenges included there being insufficient suitable homes for tenants to move into, and problems posed by COVID-19. The survey identified positive elements (eg, being given choices) and challenges (eg, poor communication) in the rehousing process. It also identified beneficial outcomes (eg, having a warmer home without stairs) and unwelcome outcomes (eg, increased loneliness). The photovoice component and data collection with non-movers provided detailed additional insights, some captured in visual material (eg, one tenant described the community activism that had led to the restoration of an old football pitch on the site). InterpretationThe findings will inform efforts by social housing providers to optimise the rehousing experiences of older social housing tenants and maximise health-related outcomes. This will be achieved through extensive engagement with practice-based stakeholders, including through an end-of-project photovoice exhibition and a national stakeholder workshop. FundingNIHR School for Public Health Research.

АДМІНІСТРАТИВНО-ПРАВОВІ ЗАСАДИ РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ ПРАВА НА ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ СОЦІАЛЬНИМ ЖИТЛОМ

After gaining independence, Ukraine has set out to update the legal framework in all areas of law, streamlining all spheres of society in accordance with international and European standards. At the same time, globalization processes, which have led to rapid changes in the protection of legal rights, freedoms and interests of citizens, have influenced the formation of a mechanism for the realization of the right to social housing in Ukraine. Because, in any period of humanity, housing in the life of every person has always been and remains the most basic need, which provides protection from all dangerous environmental factors and normal living conditions in general. In turn, the system of providing social housing in Ukraine has come a long and dynamic way and continues to take shape. Therefore, in order to properly understand the concept of "social housing" should consider the theoretical and practical aspects of the development of social housing in Ukraine. Despite many in-depth studies on this topic, the question of defining the concept of social housing and the procedure for providing social housing still remains quite controversial, and therefore requires more in-depth analysis, study of certain features and improvement not only theoretical basis but also consolidation of research data. at the legislative level. The purpose of the study is a general analysis of the content of the administrative and legal understanding of social housing, as well as the study of international standards for improving the institution of social housing in Ukraine in order to develop proposals for improving the latter. In accordance with the set goal, the following tasks were identified: to explore the historical aspects of the establishment and development of social housing in Ukraine and European countries; to establish a common legal understanding of social housing in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine; to analyze the legal framework for regulating the provision and use of social housing in Ukraine; to analyze the main ways to protect the right of citizens to social housing, etc.

From Shelters for Numbers to Shelters for Welfare: Rectifying the Social Housing Provision Programme in Jakarta

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between housing satisfaction and low-income tenants’ willingness to pay rental fees in government-owned rental apartments (GORAs), a form of social housing in Indonesia. Despite their sophisticated physical features and affordable rents, GORAs have experienced mounting arrears that burden the provincial maintenance budget. This situation contradicts the assumption that better quality housing will increase housing satisfaction and reduce the amount of rent nonpayment. By examining the situation in one GORA in Jakarta, Indonesia, this study reveals that the well-designed physical features of GORAs do not necessarily increase housing satisfaction, because the prototypical design’s failure to accommodate aspects of the residents’ sociocultural context and the prohibition of adjustments to the units diminish residents’ financial capacity and their social ties. Consequently, their poor level of housing satisfaction contributes to the mounting levels of arrears. This study recommends a comprehensive review of existing housing policy to better accommodate residents’ desired sociocultural activities and their potential means of generating revenue, thereby improving residents’ welfare and potentially reducing the total amount of rent arrears.

Under-Consumption Penalties in the Low Carbon Market: Reflections From a Spanish Social Housing Provider

This proposal focuses on the analysis of three case studies of a Spanish social landlord—Basque Alokabide, submitted to the Carbon Fund for a Sustainable Economy. The calculation of CO2 emissions follows the methodology recommended by the Spanish government. The economic viability of the cases analyzed is calculated, first without taking into account the money obtained from the carbon market, and then taking advantage of the sale of the emissions. The interest value of this work is the examination of how low incomes tend to be overrepresented in social housing, resulting in lower energy consumption and colder dwellings. Since low income tenants under-consume energy, before renovation CO2 emissions are lower, and therefore Alokabide is taking less advantage of the carbon market. Additionally, photovoltaic systems, while easier to implement even at district level, are not eligible in the Spanish program, and this is also disadvantageous. In the policy recommendations, the ex-ante accounting of emissions should be justified on the basis of theoretical energy consumption with average consumers, rather than verifying ex-post actual emissions by low income household that under consume: energy efficiency measures lead to improved thermal comfort, and this added benefit should be taken into account in the economic viability. Toward the goal of reducing emissions after retrofitting, decarbonization is more feasible than the reduction of the energy consumption through the substitution of fossil fuels by renewables to satisfy primary energy needs.