A presentation given by Christophe André at a FEANTSA Research Conference on "Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe", York, September 2012

1. Housing Policies: Better
Targeting Those Most in Need
Christophe André
Economics Department
OECD
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

2. Outline of the presentation
 General economic background
 Housing and welfare systems
 Homelessness: trends and policy orientations
 Conclusions: how to target those most in
need?
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

3. General economic background
Trends in most OECD countries
 Rising costs and shortages of housing
 Rising income inequality and poverty
 Deepest recession since the 1930s
 Fiscal crisis
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

4. Housing cost overburden rate, 2009 (% of population)
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

5. Income inequality
Gini coefficients of income inequality, mid-1980s and late 2000s
0.50
Increasing inequality
0.45 Countries where inequality widened
0.40
Little change
0.35 in inequality
0.30
0.25
Decreasing
0.20 inequality
0.15
Source: OECD, Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising (2011).
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

6. OECD output growth and unemployment
GDP growth over the past 5 years (annualised) Unemployment rate
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

7. General government financial balance
Per cent of GDP (2011)
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
SWE
PRT
AUT
POL
AUS
NLD
ISR
EST
CAN
DEU
NOR
HUN
GBR
GRC
KOR
JPN
SVK
FIN
CZE
MEX
CHE
IRL
SVN
USA
NZL
LUX
FRA
ESP
DNK
ISL
BEL
ITA
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

8. Welfare systems and social housing
Stylised facts
 Nordic model: extended welfare and flexibility –
Universal social housing
 Continental Europe: significant welfare but less
flexible and universal – Diverse levels and
organisation of social housing
 English speaking countries: safety net approach –
residual social housing
 Transition economies: privatisation of housing at
different speeds (e.g. cze,pol / est,svk)
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

9. Tenure structure across countries
Per cent of dwelling stock
Owner Private rental Public rental Co-operative Others
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: Andrews, Caldera Sánchez and Johansson, “Housing Markets and Structural
Policies in OECD countries”, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 836.
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

10. Types of social housing systems
Based on eligibility and allocation criteria
Broad-based system Targeted system
Size: Percentage of
social housing in the Income limits:
Income limits:
total dwelling stock No income limit: Waiting Waiting list with some
Needs/priority based
list combination of priority
allocation
groups
Estonia
Australia
Korea
Italy
Mexico
Portugal
0-5% Luxembourg Norway
Hungary
Slovak Republic
Greece
Switzerland
Slovenia
United States
Belgium Canada
6-10% New Zealand Germany
Ireland Israel
Czech Republic
Poland Finland
11-20% Sweden
Spain France
United Kingdom
Denmark
More than 20% Austria
Netherlands
Source: OECD Housing Market questionnaire.
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

11. Public spending on housing
 Tax reliefs: tend to be regressive
 Grants for social housing: generally declining
 Housing allowances: under pressure
 Public finances increasingly tight -> need for
more focus
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

12. Homelessness: Trends
 Difficult to measure. But seems to be
rising in many countries
 The recession and budget cuts are likely
to make things worse
 Main causes for homelessness:
 Relationship breakdown and eviction
 Personal vulnerabilities (addictions, mental
health problems…)
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

13. Homelessness: Policy orientations
 People with no special needs:
 Welfare safety net
 Support for housing (allowances, social housing)
 Forbearance (mortgage/rent arrears)/Prevention
 People with special needs
 Housing First (rather than Staircase models)
 Additional social services
 Coordination with landlords
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

14. Homelessness and social housing
 Disconnect between homelessness policies
and social housing: path dependency,
“policy silos”, stigma, financial risk…
 Social housing for people with special
needs?
 Difficult for them to access market housing
 Could face hardship in private rental
 Coordination with social services
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

15. Conclusions: how to target the most in need?
 System approach to housing policies: is
more social housing needed or are the
problems elsewhere?
 Allocation of social housing is key
 For people with special needs: need for
better coordination with social and health
services
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012

16. Thank you !
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012