ABSTRACTS

Social housing in Western Europe in the nineties This contribution gives a review of the position and the characteristics of the social rented sector in seven West European countries. We choose to focus on this topic because it cuts two ways. On the one side, the characteristics specific to each country largely determine the challenges that lie ahead for this sector in the nineties. On the other side, those characteristics also largely determine the possibilities to resolve the housing market issues that will emerge in the future. Social housing in transition This paper is based on a large-scale study of the development of social-rented housing in the USA and five West European countries. It reviews developments in the sector since the mid-1970s, highlighting the shift away from a 'mass' social housing system, accommodating a wide range of middle and lower-income households towards a more 'residual' system, targeted on the poor. The reasons for this transition are analysed. Cross-national variations in the pace and nature of this change are also discussed. Distinctive political and economic features, as well as differing national housing market and institutional structures, emerge as the principal causes of these variations. The paper concludes with some predictions for the future of social-rented housing.

The influence of private finance on the provision of social housing in England In England over the past few years, existing housing associations have raised considerable sums of private finance from a variety of financial institutions. This engagement is an important part of the Conservative government's policy framework for the funding and provision of social housing. Against this background the paper draws upon a series of interviews with representatives from a selection of housing associations in England to offer a summary of the impact of the new regime on the way they now approach the delivery of social housing. Whilst recognizing the range of risks that associations now face in the delivery of social housing, the interest throughout the paper is in the changes that have been brought about consequent upon the use of private finance. The paper begins by providing "an overview of change in the organization of

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housing associations since the 1988 Act. The paper then details the manner in which three of the case study associations have regeared their activities in the face of the requirements of the new regime. Next the approaches adopted by several private finance institutions in appraising and lending to social housing are outlined. The paper concludes by summarizing the shape of social housing provision in England under the present regime. The importance of location and housing type in the privatization of rental housing: European experience and Swedish expectations When a coalition of non-socialist parties formed a new government in Sweden in October 1991, they announced a major program for restructuring the Swedish model. Fundamental changes in housing policy were high on this agenda, including the call to seU off of a significant proportion of the publicly owned housing stock to the sitting tenants. Some rather spectacular gains had been made by many individuals in the 1980s during the wave of conversions from private rentals to cooperative-owned apartments in the central districts of the larger Swedish cities. Also, an ultra-liberal market ideology had become quite fashionable, declaring private ownership to be the superior form of residence - for all types of households. These Swedish expectations are compared with the sale of public housing in other countries in the Eastern as well as the Western parts os Europe. Two aspects are given special attention: location and housing type. As far as the latter aspect is concerned, we underline the preponderance of terraced houses in the English examples. We reason that there is a greater scope for home ownership in these types of houses than in apartments, the dominant form of housing in Sweden. In reference to location, we point to the importance of an inner-city address when estimating which apartments will be sold first. Despite a much-heralded campaign on the part of the new government in Sweden, the program to sell a good portion of the municipal housing stock has not taken off: the sitting tenants have shown very little interest to buy.

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