Pricing Public Housing Services: Mirroring the Market?

This paper is concerned with the determination of rents in the local authority sector. It concentrates on the determination of relative rents in particular. Local authorities in England have traditionally had autonomy in determining the rents for individual dwellings in their housing stock, but the 1989 Local Government and Housing Act introduced the requirement that the relativities in the public sector should be determined with reference to those obtaining in the local private rented sector. This policy, which still remains in force under the new government, is intended to price public housing more efficiently and links to long standing concerns with issues such as under-occupation. The paper critically examines the rationale behind this policy. It advances the argument that not only are the price differentials in the private sector not necessarily a good guide for efficient pricing in the public sector, but also that the conditions in the public sector are unlikely to ensure that changing rent differentials will achieve the policy objectives. Even so, the policy raises important issues of principle in pricing in the public sector which require further investigation.     

基于灰色关联分析法的公共租赁住房租金定价模型研究——以苏州市为例

针对我国公租房租金定价实践中出现的租金标准混乱、定价方法单一等问题,首先利用主成分分析法筛选城市,然后根据公租房租金定价原则选取灰色关联分析法的比较因素,建立租金定价模型,最终得到苏州市的公租房租金价格区间,并提出优化公租房租金定价的建议。     

A critical review of the modernization of Dutch rent policy

Since the Second World War, the Dutch rental market has been subject to close government regulation. In the 1970s, however, landlords started to gain greater freedom in setting the initial rental price and in determining the level of annual rent increases. In late 2004, the government announced plans whereby the hitherto cautious liberalization of the market would be continued with greater vigour. The proposed modernization of rental policy will be achieved by removing all restrictions on one quarter of the rental stock, and by implementing substantial rent increases in the remaining regulated sector. This paper gives a critical analysis of the new rent policy. This is done in the light of two considerations: the current context of the housing market, and the objectives and effects which the government hopes to achieve through the new rental policy. The author concludes that the implementation of this policy will have many disadvantages, and that alternative strategies exist which will not only serve to attain the objectives of public housing policy, but will have a less disruptive influence on the Dutch housing market.     

How does increased competition on the housing market affect rents? an empirical study concerning sweden

The aim of the study is to investigate if more competition leads to lower rents on the housing market. Data about the rent level for similar apartments in 30 cities in Sweden were available. Three hypotheses were formulated: (H1) Increased ‘internal’ competition, measured by the market share of the municipal housing company (that dominates the market and is price-leader according to the Swedish system of rent regulation), leads to lower rents. (H2) Increased ‘external’ competition measured by the price level on the market for single-family owner occupied housing, leads to lower rents. (H3) Lower capital expenditure in the municipal housing company leads to lower rents. The statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between the rent level and the level of external competition, but no relation was found for the level of internal competition and the level of capital expenditure. A possible conclusion is that policies that make it easier for households to leave the rental market are important for increasing the pressure on the firms in the rental sector and reducing rents.     

A private rental sector paradox: unpacking the effects of urban restructuring on housing market dynamics

The private rental sector (PRS) is growing in many advanced economies due to declining home ownership and retrenchment in social housing. This paper examines changes in the PRS in the context of housing market change and ongoing urbanisation processes. Using the example of Australia, it identifies a paradox when examining detailed changes in PRS composition between 1996 and 2011. Increasing demand from higher and lower income households has occurred alongside increasing concentration of supply in mid-market segments. The paper discusses possible explanations of this mismatch. It suggests that middle/higher income households rent through a mixture of constraint and choice in areas with a high level of amenity, adding to understanding of gentrification of inner-city areas. Urban restructuring, evident in increased land values in inner areas of large cities, has resulted in limited ‘filtering down’ of older housing into low-rent private rental stock and a concentration of investment in supply in mid-market segments with greatest prospects for resale and rental.     

Rental price and sustainability ratings: which sustainability criteria are really paying back?

Given the centrality of the price mechanism to resource allocation in market economies, the effect of sustainable construction on real estate prices has become an increasingly important empirical issue for market participants and policy makers in the real estate sector. Drawing upon a sample of approximately 2500 residential building units in Switzerland, this study assesses the effects of buildings’ sustainability on their rental prices. In contrast to the vast majority of previous studies that have focused on the price effects of eco-labels, this study investigates the effects of individual sustainability attributes. Overall, we find a positive relationship between the environmental performance of residential buildings and their rental levels. Sustainable building characteristics, especially those which enhance the water efficiency, the health and comfort level and the building’s safety and security, have significant positive price effects. It is argued that the unexpected negative relationship between energy performance and rental prices is attributed to the bundling of energy costs and rents in Swiss lease structures.     

公租房准入和退出管理的问题与对策研究——以重庆市为例

以在全国率先发展建设公租房的重庆市为研究对象,分析公租房的准入和退出机制及存在的问题,并从租金、监督管理、收入审核三个方面提出完善公租房准入和退出管理的对策建议,旨在为进一步完善重庆市乃至全国公租房的管理提供参考与借鉴。     

The future for private rental housing: Surviving niches or flexible markets?

Private rental housing has had a mixed experience of growth and decline across the advanced economies over the postwar period. Patterns of the tenuer’s significance have been driven by policy rather than economic growth and public housing provision, home-ownership subsidies and inflation have been as significant as rent controls. Sectors now comprise well-defined segments or niches and there are both commonalities and contrasts in units provided, ownership and occupancy. A more stable macroeconomic environment and the mobility and fiscal stringency consequences of global competition appear to facilitate a more expanded role for the sector which also requires scrutiny in relation to the housing requirements for successful European Monetary Union.     

Is private rental an option for urban housing provision in Hungary?

By 1998, 91 percent of all housing units in Hungary were occupied by owners –an extremely high percentage by international standards. Today's Hungarian housing politicians, whose anti-rental convictions stem from the experience of the previous regime, tend to disregard arguments about the consequences of this bias: the negative impact on mobility, the creation of a rigid housing market (lack of adaptability to the housing market), hardships in addressing social problems, conflicts between generations (obligations borne by elder generations) as well as the `compulsory' purchase of housing by younger generations and the drain of subsidies. There is extensive evidence that current Hungarian regulations are hostile to rental housing. With subsidies channeled to the ownership sector (housing construction benefits, interest subsidies, local subsidies, employer subsidies) as well as tax relief (purchase of privately owned housing, savings-linked subsidies, imputed rents), it is more expensive for households to rent than to buy or build housing. This leads to a distorted economic structure and a distorted use of society's resources. A housing policy based on modern economic theory pursues neutral subsidy and tax policies concerning ownership. Thus, from an economic point of view, there is no reason to prefer owner-occupied housing to rental housing. This paper explains why the private and public rental sectors are so small. But at a deeper level, the question is why private rented housing exists at all. The paper also explores related questions: who tend to rent out their units, why, for how long and how much; and who tend to rent these units, why do they rent them, and at what prices? The key policy issue is to define the basic impediments to the sector's expansion. On this basis, a new housing policy program can be formulated.     

Private renting in England

This paper presents an overview of the privately rented sector of the housing market in England. The first section sets out some key features of privately rented housing in England that distinguish it from many other advanced industrial nations. The second section briefly summarises the main reasons for the decline of private renting. This is followed by sections dealing with the demand for private rental housing and tenants’ rents and incomes. The paper then moves on to the supply side, focusing on the stock of privately rented dwellings, the nature of private landlordism in England, finance and rates of return. The final two sections examine rent control and security of tenure legislation and current policy debates about the future of the privately rented sector.     

Corporatist implementation and legitimacy: The case of privatisation in Swedish public housing

‘Corporatist implementation’ plays an important role throughout the Swedish rental sector. It is based on close ideological affiliations and adherence to common policy objectives among the Social Democratic government and the organised interests in the public rental sector. In this article, I describe how it works in rent policy as well in the programme for widened tenant influence over housing management and renewal In the mid‐1980s, however, the public landlord association invited a private company to manage and renew problem estates in public housing. The methods used by that company are examined and found to be in conflict with the objectives hitherto shared by Social Democratic governments and the ‘recognised’ interests in the public rental sector. I then go on to discuss the implications for the legitimacy of the existing ‘corporatist implementation’ structure, suggesting that a ‘de‐legitimisation’ of that structure would prove too costly and difficult for government Once such a structure is established, the sector's governability may increase, but politicians will find their range of options for change substantially limited.     

Rental Market Restructuring in South Korea: The Decline of the Chonsei Sector and its Implications

Chonsei contracts are a specific type of rental property letting in which tenants pay very large lump sum deposits in return for a short fixed tenancy period with no monthly rent payments. This system is specific to South Korea and became dominant at the end of the twentieth century when it accounted for almost two-thirds of the rental market and almost 30 per cent of all housing. In the past decade, however, there have been marked declines in the number of chonsei tenancies along with a rise in other hybrid forms of renting. In this paper, we examine transformations in the chonsei sector that reflect a number of realignments in market and economic conditions as well as shifting household and demographic landscapes. The restructuring of the rental sector is, arguably, not only reshaping housing careers but also reinforcing social inequalities. We further explore the meaning of the ‘chonsei crisis’ as well as related policy issues, comparative concerns and socioeconomic implications.     

Public choice theory and rental housing: an examination of rental housing contracts in Ghana

This paper extends both the literature on rental housing in Ghana and the global literature on the critique of public choice analyses in terms of focus, methods and positioning. It argues that, contrary to the assumption that all housing policy changes are driven by internal national processes, in the case of Ghana at least, neither tenants (through their use of their greater numbers) nor landlords (through the use of their stronger financial and hence political power) exclusively influence housing policy. Both parties have some power, but landlords use theirs to change rents arbitrarily and decide whom to invite or keep as tenants, whilst tenants seek to use their power by lodging complaints with the state, albeit to little effect as the power of landlords is overwhelming. There is a strong basis to call into question the public choice argument that it is fair for landlords to extract windfall rent from tenants since their efforts or talents do not increase rent.     

Revisiting electricity reform: The case for a sustainable development approach

Debates over reform and restructuring of the electricity sector worldwide are typically focused on technical and economic concerns. This paper argues for a wider perspective on electricity reforms, one that explicitly examines social and environmental outcomes. The paper shows how electricity reform in the developing world has been driven primarily by financial concerns. It then examines changes in the electricity sector in the context of larger globalization debates. This framing of the issue sets the stage for a discussion of the social and environmental considerations in electricity reform.     

THIRTY YEARS OF RENT CONTROL: A SURVEY OF NEW JERSEY CITIES

ABSTRACT: This study reexamines the conventional claims made by economists and policy analysts concerning modern rent control. We look at 76 New Jersey rent‐controlled cities over a 30‐year period and pose questions about the impact of rent control on rents, number of rooms, quality of units, and new rental construction using the latest Census data on cities for 2000. Our study is a comprehensive empirical study of rent control using multiple regression as the primary form of analysis. We find the intended impacts of New Jersey rent control over a 30‐year period seem minimal when you compare cities with and without regulations. Housing activists and policymakers need to look at new kinds of approaches to address rental affordability problems.     

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Programme Impacts on Housing Affordability in Australia: Microsimulation Model Estimates

Growing concern about a lack of rental housing affordable to low-income Australian households has prompted consideration of possible policy interventions. This paper estimates the potential housing market impacts of a tax credit targeted on rental housing affordable to low-income Australian households. The study finds that existing landlords in low-income rental housing benefit from a one-third or more reduction in their effective tax burdens. If these tax benefits are passed on in the form of lower market rents, it is estimated that the percentage of households paying more than 30 per cent of gross income in rents falls from 26 to 21 per cent. This impact would be larger but for eligible households in receipt of demand-side subsidies in the form of rent assistance. As a consequence, many low-income households receive only part of the low income housing tax credit benefits that are passed on into lower market rents. Moreover, higher income tenants occupy some of the cheaper rental housing targeted by tax credits, and this weakens the policy rationale for such supply-side measures. The paper advocates the adoption of headleasing arrangements to increase the share of benefits received by low-income tenants.     

基于BOT 模式的公租房定价机制研究

增加公租房供给是我国住房保障政策的重点,而公租房定价是住房保障可持续发展的难题。基于BOT 模式发展公租房,能够借助民营资本的综合优势解决政府财政资金相对紧缺与保障家庭支付能力不足的矛盾。基于保障性、公平性、可持续发展等原则,深入研究设计了BOT 模式下的公租房定价机制,提出了采取名义租金、实际租金的“双租金制”和实行 “租补分离”的定价思路。研究结果为完善我国住房保障制度提供了理论支持,也为公租房定价实践提供了重要参考。     

深圳市公共租赁住房定价模式创新研究——基于整体评估的片区定价探析

公租房定价模式的选择是解决现有空置率过高问题关键所在。在分析和梳理公租房定价影响因素和现行定价模式的基础上,提出基于整体评估的公租房片区租金定价模式,从片区划分方案和片区租金评估流程两方面解析该方法,并以深圳市公租房为实证,验证其科学性。     

Motives for Investments in Housing Rehabilitation among Private Landlords under Rent Control

In economic studies of the private rental sector of the housing market, and in political debates on housing policy, it is often assumed that private landlords are basically guided by rational economic motives. In this paper, which is based on a Danish study of housing rehabilitation activity among private landlords under rent control, it is shown that different groups of landlords exist who have many other motives for buying and maintaining rental property than those assumed in economic theory. It is concluded that private landlords do not behave as economic, rational and efficient actors as is often assumed, and that an understanding of these structures of landlordism is essential to an assessment of the role of private landlords in housing supply, and to an elaboration of public programmes for supporting housing rehabilitation in the private rental sector.     

The significance of Swedish rental policy: Cost renting: Command economy versus the social market in comparative perspective

Recent literature on the Swedish rental system has missed the central significance of the Swedish system for international comparative purposes by neglecting the rent‐setting system and by unwittingly adopting an Anglo‐Saxon perspective. In this paper I attempt to rectify this by developing a comparative conceptual framework for the analysis of rental systems. I outline the post‐war history of the Swedish rent‐setting system, and argue that this constitutes an example of a unitary social rental market in the making, whereby public and private renting are integrated and public renting expands to become market leader for rent‐setting purposes. According to this model, public renting is allowed to compete with private renting such that its cost structure increasingly determines the rent levels on the rental market as a whole. This ‘market strategy’ constrasts to the Anglo‐Saxon model in which public renting is segregated from private renting, its growth suppressed (or even reversed through discounted sales) to prevent public renting competing with private renting and owner occupation. The ‘command policy’ uses the principles of the command economy to achieve the goal of sheltering both owner occupation and private renting from competition from a non‐profit form of rental housing. Other countries where a market policy has been adopted, such as Germany and the Netherlands, are also discussed.