Good dwellings for all: The case of social rented housing in Sweden

During the last decade many European countries have experienced a decline in the production of social rented housing, and there has also been an increase in sales of such dwellings. However, in Sweden social rented housing is still treated as an integral part of Social Democratic housing policy. According to this policy it should not be regarded as a residual tenure only to people in special need of housing. On the contrary, the official goal is to make it as efficient as other tenures in providing good dwellings for all. In order to popularise this tenure a number of measures have been introduced during the 1980s, such as diversification of the stock, decentralisation of management, increasing tenants’ influence and ambitious renewal programmes. Sales of municipal housing have been kept at a low level, although more sophisticated forms of privatisation have been observable. This paper reviews recent tendencies in social rented housing in Sweden, ending up with a discussion of its political basis and prospects.