The present and future of income‐related housing support: debates in Britain and the Netherlands

This paper examines income‐related housing support in Britain and the Netherlands. It considers the main issues that are at stake in current policy discussions, compares the arguments that are put forward in the two countries and draw conclusions about the future of income‐related housing support. In both Britain and the Netherlands political discussions about the possible introduction of housing vouchers are observed. The most complicated issues are the poverty trap and unemployment trap, and housing consumption incentives. Moral hazard concerns can result in complicated anti‐fraud measures that may add to the burden of administering income‐related support. It is expected that the way in which income‐related housing support schemes in both countries are designed and administered may come under closer scrutiny. Politicians want these schemes to be in tune with the need for labour and housing market mobility, wage flexibility, and the need to bring the public budget under control.     

Disparate housing strategies and practices of public and private enterprises in India: Analysis of middle class housing and new towns

This paper focuses on housing provision in the context of Indian New Town policy (with special emphasis on new towns such as Rajarhat and Navi Mumbai) and the upsurge of the middle-income group (MIG) and its access to housing. It argues that alternative schemes for housing the growing middle income population should be promoted and—if planned inclusively—new towns can contribute to solving the housing crisis. New policies for housing the middle income groups (such as “Pradhan Mantry Awas Yojna”) are unlikely to affect MIG housing, as in spite of the subsidies offered, the market price of housing stock continues to be beyond the reach of the MIG. Unless policy measures to boost the housing stock for MIG is formulated while controlling the pricing and incentivising the developers, it is unlikely that gaps in terms of demand would reduce substantially.     

Housing and poverty: a longitudinal analysis

Cross-sectional research suggests that the British housing system weakens the link between income poverty and housing outcomes, but this reveals little about the long-term relationships. We examine the relationship between income poverty and housing pathways over an 18-year period to 2008, and develop consensual approaches to poverty estimation, housing deprivation, and the prevalence of under and over-consumption. We find that chronic poverty is most strongly associated with housing pathways founded in social renting, whereas housing pathways founded in owner-occupation are more strongly associated with temporary poverty. Whilst housing deprivation is disproportionately prevalent among those who experienced chronic poverty, the overwhelming majority of people who experienced chronic poverty avoided housing deprivation. This evidence supports of the notion that the housing system, during this period, weakened the link between poverty and housing deprivation. Therefore it can be characterised as representing a ‘sector regime’ with different distributional tendencies from the wider welfare regime.     

If past traditions were building blocksA perspective on low income housing development in Nigerian cities

The global millenial challenge of providing shelter for all by the year 2000 calls for a reevaluation of existing strategies for housing production and the charting of new courses. This paper examines one approach in which the wealth of meaning, knowledge, skill and experience in traditional Nigerian residential architecture may be useful in addressing contemporary urban low-income housing problems. It is found that, with slight modifications to existing development control standards, the traditional compound house (built on the courtyard principle) offers a solution with some potential to improve the quality of urban low income housing while, at the same time, alleviating some of the bottlenecks inhibiting the supply of such housing at present. It is suggested, therefore, that this house form could be a veritable resource for policy makers in the quest for an enhanced quality and quantity of low income housing in Nigerian cities.     

Local housing policy and residential segregation

The focus of the article is on the relationship between local housing policy and residential segregation. The former is specified as decisions concerning type of tenure and the location of new dwellings, the latter in terms of class and income. Three structurally similar Swedish cities are compared. The results show that, the more market orientated local housing policy and the less “mixed housing” is, the stronger residential segregation. One planning implication seems to be that the development of housing segregation according to class and income, indeed, may be influenced by local planning. If desegregation is given a high priority in a city, housing production should be directed to accomplish this aim.     

Defining and measuring housing affordability using the Minimum Income Standard

Abstract

There is growing concern about a crisis in housing affordability in the UK, renewing longstanding debates about what constitutes ‘affordable’ housing. The growing use of the private rented sector by low income households has also led to increased interest in understanding the impact of housing costs on living standards. This paper builds on existing work on ‘residual income’ measures of housing affordability, accepting that what households can afford to pay for housing is related to their ability to cover other costs, and so not directly proportional to income. It proposes a new approach to defining and measuring housing affordability, based on the Minimum Income Standard (MIS). The paper then uses data from the Family Resources Survey (2008/09 to 2015/16) to examine housing affordability within the rented sector across the UK, exploring the value of this measure both in revealing the scale of the ‘problem’ and assessing the likely impact of suggested interventions.     

‘Housing Poverty’ and Income Poverty in England and The Netherlands

This paper examines whether the distributional consequences of contrasting welfare systems are enhanced, replicated or countered by housing systems in England and the Netherlands. It adopts the monetised concepts of ‘net housing income’ and ‘net housing resources’, which are commensurable with disposable income and income-based measures of poverty. It was found that both housing systems exert a poverty-reducing impact compared to disposable income alone. The absolute reduction is greatest in England, suggesting that its housing system counters the high levels of income poverty produced by the welfare system, although the comparative levels of poverty between the two countries remain unchanged, which may signify that the distribution of disposable income is replicated in housing. However, the synthetic concept of ‘housing poverty’ reveals that the poverty-reducing impact of housing income/ resources arises because by themselves they are distributed far less equally than is disposable income, so creating a much higher rate of ‘housing poverty’. Crucially, ‘housing poverty’ occurs predominantly among those who are not income poor. This allows welfare and housing systems to combine to reduce poverty in an act of progressive dissonance, suggesting a hitherto unexpectedly high degree of independence between the two.     

The changing nature of financing low‐income urban housing development in Kenya

The poor state of housing in the cities of developing countries has been the subject of numerous studies. Only a few published articles on the topic, however, emphasise the complexity and interrelatedness of the key components of housing such as land, finance, building materials, and construction technologies. This article examines one of these components, namely finance, and assesses its importance to the development of appropriate low‐income housing in Kenya's second city, Mombasa. Kenya's urban housing policy emphasises home ownership rather than rentals. For the low‐income groups, the twin package of site and service and settlement upgrading has been the main programme of action. One of the most recent projects of this nature, the Second Urban Project (SUP) is evaluated here in so far as the nature of its financing has had important repercussions on the low‐income urban housing sub‐sector in Mombasa. It is the contention of this paper that the introduction into Mombasa's low‐income settlements of the conventional or formal systems of financing residential development has resulted in socio‐economic turbulence of gigantic proportions. It has led to clandestine plot sales, absentee landlordism, escalating rents, and the ‘invasion’ of low‐income settlements by higher income groups. Prior to the implementation of this World Bank funded project, the financing of low‐income housing had been primarily done on an informal basis under a traditional method known as the ‘tenancy‐at‐will’ system which encouraged progressive housing development, and discouraged absentee landlordism. This article concludes that it is not cost‐effective to rapidly replace non‐conventional methods. It would be more appropriate to integrate the two in a pragmatic way by adopting more novel ways of financing low‐income residential development in a way that would minimise the current rampant failures of these projects in meeting their stated objectives.     

A wasting resource: public housing and drug use in inner‐city Melbourne

Public housing is one of few sources of low‐income rental housing in inner‐city Melbourne, Australia. Most of this housing is easily identifiable high‐rise estates. Some of these estates have become established centres of heroin dealing and drug use. This has had significant consequences: applicants reject offers of housing on the estates; tenants apply for transfers; and housing officers face workplace occupational health and safety issues. In sum, the presence of the drug trade is undermining the provision of affordable, well‐located public housing. This paper contributes to discussions that seek to restore the value of this common resource. It does so by drawing on qualitative interviews and focus groups conducted with heroin users who live in and/or use public housing. The experience of these individuals gives insight into the current relationship between the illicit drug trade and public housing, as well as some understanding of the resilience of the illicit drug trade. The paper looks at measures that have been implemented to address this problem, before questioning whether there is room for an innovative, regulatory response to illicit drug use.     

The health effects of improvements to housing: A longitudinal study

Although housing conditions were an integral part of the emergence of the Public Health movement, there has been relatively little research on the relationship between housing and health compared to that on social inequalities in general. This is surprising in view of the fact that one of the major links between social inequalities and health is adverse housing conditions. Findings from previous investigations in several countries of the presence of damp and mould in housing and symptoms in the occupants have indicated that the associations may well be causal. However, there have been no studies which have assessed the health of the residents before and after the elimination of dampness/mould. This paper describes a longitudinal study designed to evaluate the effects of an improved heating system on the symptoms of children living on a peripheral housing estate. The results suggested that the elimination of dampness/mould prevented a further deterioration in health rather than bringing about an improvement. The presence of other factors known to influence health status, such as financial difficulties and other housing problems, may have offset any benefits arising from the new heating system. The methodological issues that arose in conducting the study in an area of severe social disadvantage are described. It is suggested that the complexity of the interactions between bad housing and low income, should not detract attention from the need for intersectoral co‐operation to address the issue.     

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.     

How housing outcomes vary between the Belgian regions

Belgium is a federal state with three regions: the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region, and the Brussels-Capital Region. In international housing literature, the picture of Belgium is mainly defined by that of Flanders. This study provides new information on the housing conditions in the three regions, information that until now has been rare. Apart from that, this study adds to the knowledge on the relationship between housing policy and housing outcomes. Although the three regions largely share the same policy, there prove to be varying housing outcomes. Differences in general income levels and poverty levels between the regions are reflected to a significant extent in housing outcomes. However, the results also show how housing policy can indeed make a difference.     

On land supply and the price of residential housing

This paper develops an econometric model to examine the impact of land supply on residential housing prices. Specifically, this study examines the role of population, permanent income, real mortgage interest rates, construction cost, speculative demand, land supply and government land policy in the determination of private housing prices in Hong Kong. Empirical results provide strong evidence that an increase in land supply will bring forth a decrease in housing prices. The results also reveal that housing prices are dominated by the fundamental demographic and economic factors. The relatively small response coefficients suggest that speculative demand and land supply have a significant but modest impact on housing prices.     

Labour mobility and housing: the impact of housing tenure and housing affordability on labour migration in the Czech Republic

This article examines whether housing tenure and regional differences in housing affordability have an impact on labour mobility. This relationship is important for understanding the sources of structural unemployment and impediments to economic growth. Using two sample surveys from the Czech Republic, this research reveals that at the individual level housing tenure is the most powerful factor determining willingness to change residence for employment reasons. A time-series regression analysis reveals that the impact of housing affordability on observed interregional migration patterns is relatively weak and that this effect is concentrated among the highly educated seeking employment in the capital, Prague. These results demonstrate that housing tenure has a significant impact on labour migration plans in case of unemployment and that the dynamic impact of regional differences in housing affordability on labour mobility is concentrated within the most highly skilled segment of the labour force.     

The rhetoric and reality of housing choice: The role of urban consolidation

In Australia, growth at the fringe has been seen as an inevitable response to a lack of affordable housing in the inner and middle zones of the major metropolitan cities. Urban consolidation was seen as one way of improving housing affordability and increasing housing choices and, at the same time, constraining outward growth. It will do so only if households forego past preferences for ownership of a detached house. This paper examines the contribution urban consolidation has made to meeting affordability and choice objectives by providing some insights into whether households are trading off tenure choices for lifestyle choices based on location and dwelling type. It also provides information on the extent of spatial polarisation of income that has contributed to the observed outcomes.     

Domestic property and housing class in contemporary urban China

This article examines the division of housing class in the context of Chinese society since the market-oriented housing reform in 1998. Based on data from a recent study, this paper examines three housing classes and their housing situation in four of China’s major urban centers. The results of a multivariate analysis on housing ownership among the three housing classes show that apart from some socioeconomic factors similar to those in the West, institutional factors, such as the hukou system and resident status, are also significant. The results imply that limited housing choices may have caused over privatization and, to certain extent, a single urban housing system. This could lead to conflict among people in various housing classes, as a response to the inequality in the urban housing market.     

The rhetoric and reality of housing choice: The role of urban consolidation

Abstract

In Australia, growth at the fringe has been seen as an inevitable response to a lack of affordable housing in the inner and middle zones of the major metropolitan cities. Urban consolidation was seen as one way of improving housing affordability and increasing housing choices and, at the same time, constraining outward growth. It will do so only if households forego past preferences for ownership of a detached house. This paper examines the contribution urban consolidation has made to meeting affordability and choice objectives by providing some insights into whether households are trading off tenure choices for lifestyle choices based on location and dwelling type. It also provides information on the extent of spatial polarisation of income that has contributed to the observed outcomes.     

The resurgence of public housing provision in China: the Chongqing programme

Under Chinese neoliberalisation, restructuring of interactions between the market, the state and local governments has encouraged the latter to suppress public housing provision, resulting in serious housing problems for Chinese low-to-middle income households. Since 2007, the state has pursued a public housing revival, laying out various responsibilities for local governments to develop public housing. However, until recently, confronted with significant shortfalls in fiscal and land inputs, local authorities were largely unable to activate construction on an adequate scale. Nonetheless, between 2011 and 2013, the city of Chongqing applied a mode to supply public rental housing on a massive scale. This paper examines the administrative structure and reforms that have ensured the execution of the Chongqing programme. Findings show that specific political and economic incentives of the local officials have played important roles for realising the programme. Moreover, the municipality’s control of land supply and the market have also enabled an efficient cooperation between governmental and market actors for public housing provision.     

Do housing costs impact on poverty in rural areas?

Abstract

This research examines evidence for whether housing costs are more likely to be associated with poverty in rural than in urban Scotland. It reports the results from probit modelling of British Household Panel Survey data from 1999 to 2008. Empirical work is set in the context of understandings of factors associated with poverty, defined on an income basis, and specific features associated with rural locations. Attention is drawn to the way in which rurality is defined and that definition operationalized. The finding from the multivariate analysis is that a household’s housing costs do not appear to have a different association with its propensity to experience poverty in rural as opposed to urban Scotland. The paper sets out conclusions in the recognition of possible limitations and identifies ways in which the evidence can be extended.