Impact of the Crisis and Austerity

Social housing is currently faced with a double challenge: on the one hand it is called upon to respond to increasing housing needs which are not satisfied by the market, on the other hand resources which have typically been used to finance the sector are decreasing, and in some cases they have undergone a dramatic cut over the past year. Social housing providers’ capacity to intervene in the market is challenged by these phenomena, and the sustainability of social housing provision in many countries is at risk of being deeply affected by this double crisis.

In this briefing we present a snapshot of the situation of the social housing sector, drawing on information exchanged during two meetings with CECODHAS Housing Europe member organisations, held at the end of 2011. We also present a more detailed description of the current situation in six countries (namely England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain), selected on the basis of the availability of recent statistics and information.