Editing Public housing (section)

== Europe ==
=== European Union ===
[[File:Aleja Lotników z ulicy Bełdan w kierunku wschodnim 1977.jpg|thumb|Brand new [[Plattenbau|panel buildings]] in [[Warsaw]], [[communist Poland]], 1977]]
According to a 2018 discussion paper of the [[European Commission]], in 2015, 11.3% of the EU-population lived in households that spent 40% or more of their disposable income on housing.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Lieve | last1 = Fransen | first2 = Gino | last2 = del Bufalo | first3 = Edoardo | last3 = Reviglio | author4 = Economic and Financial Affairs | url = https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/economy-finance/boosting-investment-social-infrastructure-europe_en | title = Boosting Investment in Social Infrastructure in Europe (Discussion Paper 074) | page = 34 | format = pdf | language = en | date = January 23, 2018 | isbn = 978-92-79-77403-4 | issn = 2443-8022 | doi = 10.2765/794497 | access-date = January 25, 2020 | archive-date = 25 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200125114151/https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/economy-finance/boosting-investment-social-infrastructure-europe_en | url-status = live }}</ref>
In January 2019, the former [[European Commission]] President, [[Romano Prodi]], declared that "public investment in social infrastructure during the [[Eurocrisis]] reached a 20-year low. Current investment in social infrastructure in the [[European Union|EU]] is estimated at 170 billion euros per year. The minimum infrastructure investment gap in these sectors is estimated at 100 to 150 billion euros, representing a total gap of at least 1.5 trillion euros between 2018 and 2030."<ref name="housingeurope.eu,31january2019">{{cite web | url = http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-1231/romano-prodi-we-can-show-leadership-in-europe-now-in-support-of-affordable-housing | title = Romano Prodi: "We can show leadership in Europe now in support of affordable housing" | date = January 31, 2019 | language = en |archive-url = https://archive.today/20200125112035/http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-1231/romano-prodi-we-can-show-leadership-in-europe-now-in-support-of-affordable-housing | archive-date = January 25, 2020 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Housing projects in [[Europe]] can be found in [[urban area]]s, as well as in [[suburban area]]s.

The EU was moving to support more affordable, energy-efficient and accessible housing with the financial contribution of the [[Council of Europe Development Bank|CEB]] and of the [[European Investment Bank|EIB]] through its [[European Fund for Strategic Investments]]. Public funding was planned to be directed primarily on affordable housing and secondly in the education and lifelong learning, health and long-term care sectors.<ref name="housingeurope.eu,31january2019" />

In Europe, there is a significant shortage of investment in social housing and a pressing need to renovate existing units.{{when|date=May 2024}} Annual investment in housing is predicted at €57 billion for new building and energy-efficiency modifications. The projections do not include the refugee situation caused by the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bank |first=European Investment |date=2024-03-18 |title=Sustainable innovation |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20240069-sustainable-innovation-water-housing-enlargement |language=EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Social and affordable housing |url=https://www.eib.org/en/projects/topics/sustainable-cities-regions/urban-development/social-affordable-housing |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.eib.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Housing affordability and sustainability in the EU |url=https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-02/ecso_ar_housing_affordability_2019_0.pdf}}</ref>

=== Austria ===
{{Main|Gemeindebau}}
[[File:Karl-Marx-Hof 2009.jpg|thumb|280x280px|{{lang|de|[[Karl Marx-Hof]]|italic=no}}, a ''[[Gemeindebau]]'' constructed during the [[Red Vienna]] period in [[Döbling]], [[Vienna]] (2009).|alt=]]

Public housing was an important issue right from the foundation of the [[Republic of German-Austria]] in 1918. The population was faced with a great deal of uncertainty particularly as regards food and fuel. This led to a significant number of less affluent people to move to the periphery of towns, often building makeshift homes to be closer to where they could grow food. They were called {{lang|de|Siedler}} ('settlers'). As the political situation became stabilised with foundation of the [[First Austrian Republic]] in September 1919, the {{lang|de|Siedler}} movement started creating formal organizations like the [[Austrian Association for Settlements and Small Gardens]].<ref name=Vossoughian>{{cite book |last1=Vossoughian |first1=Nader |title=Otto Neurath: The Language of the Global Polis |date=2008 |publisher=NAi |location=The Hague |isbn=978-90-5662-350-0 }}</ref> The electoral victory of the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] in the elections for the Viennese {{lang|de|Gemeinderat}} (city parliament) gave rise to [[Red Vienna]]. Part of their programme was the provision of decent homes for the Viennese working class who made up the core of their supporters. Hence the German word {{lang|de|Gemeindebau}} (plural: {{lang|de|Gemeindebauten}}) for "municipality building". In Austria, it refers to residential buildings erected by a municipality, usually to provide public housing.  These have been an important part of the architecture and culture of [[Vienna]] since the 1920s.

=== Belgium ===
Social housing is a responsibility of the regions in Belgium. The regions do not directly own the houses, semi-private social housing corporations do. The government regulates and mostly finances this corporations. Below a certain income limit, people are eligible for social housing. Because there is a major shortage of social housing in Belgium, other priority conditions are often imposed, such as having children to care for.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sociale huisvesting: inschrijving en toewijzing |url=https://www.belgium.be/nl/huisvesting/sociale_huisvesting/inschrijving_en_toewijzing |website=Belgium.be |publisher=Federal Government of Belgium |access-date=27 December 2018 |date=9 April 2015 |archive-date=27 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227181603/https://www.belgium.be/nl/huisvesting/sociale_huisvesting/inschrijving_en_toewijzing |url-status=live }}</ref> Social housing accounts for approximately 6.5% of the Belgian housing market. This is much lower than neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and France. As of 2018 [[Flanders]], [[Wallonia]] and [[Brussels]] are responsible for 280,687 social houses, 212,794 people are on the waiting list. For the people on the waiting list there are other possibilities such as subsidies and sociale rental agencies in Flanders.<ref>{{cite web |title=Feiten en cijfers over sociale huisvesting |url=http://www.armoedebestrijding.be/cijfers_sociale_huisvesting.htm |website=Armoedebestrijding.be |publisher=Steunpunt tot bestrijding van armoede, bestaansonzekerheid en sociale uitsluiting |access-date=27 December 2018 |archive-date=11 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211163143/http://www.armoedebestrijding.be/cijfers_sociale_huisvesting.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Denmark ===
In Denmark, public housing is called {{lang|da|alment boligbyggeri}} and is owned and administered by approximately 700 self-governing, democratic and non-profit organizations by and for the tenants themselves. Many of the public housing organizations in Denmark are rooted in the early history of the [[labor union]]s and currently forms about 20% of the total housing stock with about 7,500 departments countrywide. A membership of a housing organization is usually required to obtain a rental and they are granted with regard to length of membership.<ref name=FactSheet>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbbl.dk/sites/mbbl.dk/files/dokumenter/publikationer/fact_sheet_on_the_danish_social_housing_sector.oct2014.pdf|title=Fact sheet on the Danish social housing sector |publisher=Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs |access-date=28 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204220306/http://www.mbbl.dk/sites/mbbl.dk/files/dokumenter/publikationer/fact_sheet_on_the_danish_social_housing_sector.oct2014.pdf |archive-date=4 February 2015 }}</ref><ref name=retsinformation>{{cite web |url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/r0710.aspx?id=151792 |title=Almenboligloven |trans-title=Law on Public Housing |website=retsinformation.dk |publisher=The Department of Civil Affairs |language=da |date=24 August 2013 |access-date=28 May 2015 |archive-date=28 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528200538/https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/r0710.aspx?id=151792 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although the buildings are owned and administered by self-governing and economically independent organizations, the State of Denmark is strongly regulating public housing in the country. By law, the municipalities have access to 25% of the rentals, usually reserving them for the poor, the unemployed, the disabled or mentally ill or any other group dependent on social benefits from the municipality. Over the years, these regulations have created many '[[vulnerable residential area (Denmark)|vulnerable residential areas]]' within the country. Danish public housing has never had any income restrictions, but in recent years new state regulations has made it mandatory for several of them to favor fully employed renters and disfavor unemployed or part-time employed people. This is a relatively new effort by the state to counter the ghettoisation, which is now an officially recognized problem countrywide.<ref name=FactSheet/><ref name=retsinformation/>

As in Sweden, state and municipal policies carried out throughout the first decade of the 21st century, has led to an increased privatization of public housing. In many areas, residents have been offered to buy their own flats, thereby effectively changing the status of the property. The privatization of public housing was initiated as part of an ideological program by the right wing governments of the early 21st century and was launched a few years after the closure of the former Ministry of Housing Affairs in 2001.<ref>The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had been in operation for more than 50 years, from 1947–2001.</ref> The former ministry was re-opened as Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs in October 2011, when a new coalition government led by [[socialdemokraterne|social-democrats]] was formed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbbl.dk/english |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105085928/http://www.mbbl.dk/english|url-status=dead |archive-date=5 November 2011 |title=Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs |date=29 April 2015 |access-date=28 May 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://boligforskning.dk/housing-problems |title=Present and Future Housing Problems in Denmark – and predictable Changes in Housing Policy |publisher=Center for Housing and Welfare |author=Hans Kristensen |date=2 July 2005 |access-date=28 May 2015 |archive-date=28 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528200809/http://boligforskning.dk/housing-problems |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Finland ===

The right to housing is guaranteed in the Finnish constitution, and public housing in Finland is largely funded through loans which are subsidized and guaranteed by the government. Roughly one third of Finland's housing stock has been built this way.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARA steers and monitors |url=https://www.ara.fi/en-US/ARA_housing_stock |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=www.ara.fi |language=en-US}}</ref> Rents for public housing apartments in Finland are typically significantly lower than market-rate housing. Eligibility to live in public housing in Finland is based on a need-based evaluation, and those with very low incomes and those who are experiencing homelessness are given priority.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heikkilä |first=Jenni |date=2022-11-18 |title=Finnish system for affordable social housing supports social mixing and brings down homelessness |url=https://www.munifin.fi/whats-new/finnish-system-for-affordable-social-housing-supports-social-mixing-and-brings-down-homelessness/ |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=MuniFin |language=en-GB}}</ref>[[File:Flats Sandelsinkatu Vuorela Siilinjarvi Finland 08.jpg|thumb|A public housing apartment building at the Sandelsinkatu street in [[Siilinjärvi]], Finland]]
The earliest public housing project in [[Finland]] was in [[Helsinki]]. In 1909, four wooden houses designed by the architect {{lang|sv|A. Nyberg|italic=no}} were built on {{lang|fi|Kirstinkuja|italic=no}} (formerly {{lang|fi|Kristiinankatu|italic=no}}) for the city's workers. The residents were mainly working-class families with several children. The apartments had an average of five people per room, sometimes up to eight. The tiny apartments were equipped with running water, a pantry and an attic cupboard. Every apartment had its own toilet in the cellar. Electric lighting was installed in 1918.

The homes and lives of worker families in Helsinki from 1909 to 1985 are presented in a museum near the {{lang|fi|Linnanmäki|italic=no}} amusement park.

In 2008, Helsinki launched its Housing First policy, with the goal of ending homelessness by prioritizing unconditional housing.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite web|date=2019-06-03|title='It's a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness|url=http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness|access-date=2021-12-07|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=10 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210061548/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness|url-status=live}}</ref> With municipal, state, and NGO support, and coupled with health and medical services, the program reduced homelessness by 35% between 2008 and 2019.<ref name="theguardian.com"/>

=== France ===
{{Main|Public housing in France|HLM}}
[[File:Paris13 HBM-rueJeanFautrier.jpg|thumb|Public housing of the {{lang|fr|rue Jean Fautrier}} in the [[13th arrondissement of Paris]].|alt=]]

After [[World War II]], the population increased at a rate previously unknown, the rural exodus increased, while war damage had reduced the number of houses in many cities. Rental prices dramatically rose, and the government made a law in 1948 to block them, effectively ending the economic benefits of housing investment. Rents were gradually deregulated until debate in the 1980s led to the current rental law of 1989 theoretically balancing landlord and tenant relations. However, there was a major homelessness crisis in the winter of 1953–4 and the necessary laws were gradually mobilized producing high levels of construction almost continuously from the 1960s. Social landlords were a major source of expertise as well as construction actors with links to national and local bodies.<ref name="Jean-Marc Stébé 1998">{{cite book |author=Jean-Marc Stébé |date=1998 |title=Le logement social en France |trans-title=Social housing in France |location=Paris |publisher=[[Presses Universitaires de France]] }}</ref> The construction industry was at the time inadequate so political support was needed.

It is incorrect to refer to French social housing as public housing. The origins of French social housing lie in the private sector, with the first State aid provided to limited-profit companies by the {{lang|fr|loi Siegfried}} in 1894. The originally socialist idea was promoted by some French employers in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Public housing companies followed before World War I.<ref name="Jean-Marc Stébé 1998"/> There are still different social housing movements, public, private and some cooperative.  Social landlord organizations all have similar regulation and similar access to government loans but there are significant differences.<ref>Much is found in the {{lang|fr|Code de la Construction et de l'Habitation}} (the Building and Housing Code), Book IV (with social housing allocation and funding elsewhere in the Code).</ref>

The government launched a series of major construction plans, including the creation of [[new town]]s ({{lang|fr|villes nouvelles}}) and new suburbs with [[HLM]] ({{lang|fr|Habitation à Loyer Modéré}}, "low-rent housing"). The state had the funds and [[eminent domain|the legal means to acquire the land]] and could provide some advantages to the companies that then built its huge housing complexes of hundreds of apartments. Quality was also effectively regulated, resulting in decent or even top quality housing for the standard of the 1950s and 1960s. The construction of HLMs were subject to much political debate. Much smaller developments are now the norm. This housing is now generally referred to as {{lang|fr|l'habitat social}}, a slightly wider sphere than just housing.

France still retains this system, a recent law making it an obligation for every town to have at least 20% HLM. Nowadays HLM represents roughly half of the rental market (46% in 2006).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/donnees_chiffrees.pdf |title=Quelques données chiffrées sur le parc locatif privé |trans-title=Some data on the private rental market |access-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603095252/http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/donnees_chiffrees.pdf |archive-date=3 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Social housing is not all for disadvantaged people who are just one of the target groups. Part of the funding can be provided by employer-employee groups to provide housing for local employees. The 20% target can include intermediate housing for better off groups, although its object is to produce social mix.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Maurice Blanc |title=The Impact of Social Mix Policies in France |journal=Housing Studies |date=March 2010 |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=257–272 |doi=10.1080/02673030903562923 |s2cid=153808294 }}</ref> Gentrification and the very basis of social housing allocation are divisive issues as well as the extent of local control of housing.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jane Ball |year=2012 |title=Housing Disadvantaged People? Insiders and Outsiders in French Social Housing Allocation |location=London |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> This housing has always been a multi-actor activity and recent local government reorganization continues to change the political landscape.

While they succeeded in giving lower-income families a place to live in the drive to provide popular housing, this system also led to the creation of suburban ghettos, with a problem of disrepair. There has been a long-term problem of gradual impoverishment of social tenants<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Michel Amzallag |author2=Claude Taffin |year=2003 |title=Le Logement Social |trans-title=Social Housing |location=Paris |publisher=[[LGDJ]] }}</ref> There, deprived strata of the population, mostly of immigrant origin and suffering massive under-employment, might in the past have been left to simmer away from the more affluent urban centres, sometimes becoming rife with social tensions and violence. This affects a minority of social housing but has a high profile and still produces serious tension.

Tackling this problem at its roots is all but simple, and social mix policies can break up populations seen as difficult by redevelopment. This has not had the hoped for results. It has also been sought to resolve the problem of access to the system by disadvantaged people by a new system where certain groups can apply to court to be housed if refused, the "right to housing".  This tends to intensify the controversy over social housing allocation, who should be housed.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Noémie Houard (coord.)&thinsp;: ''Loger l'Europe. Le logement social dans tous ses États'' |trans-title=Noémie Houard (editor): Housing Europe. Social housing in all its countries |author=Frédérique Chave |date=December 2013 |journal=Revue des politiques sociales et familiales |issue=114 |pages=92–94 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/caf_2101-8081_2013_num_114_1_2958_t11_0092_0000_2 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=15 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615092443/https://www.persee.fr/doc/caf_2101-8081_2013_num_114_1_2958_t11_0092_0000_2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The French tradition of 'universal' social housing allocation – housing for everyone is called into question by [[EU competition law]] restricting subsidy except for the disadvantaged. In any event, the system is certainly effective in producing construction, although not with the excesses seen in the [[European debt crisis|recent credit crunch]] elsewhere.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}

=== Germany ===
{{Main|Plattenbau}}

Between 1925 and 1930 Germany was the site of innovative and extensive municipal public housing projects, mostly in [[Berlin]], Hamburg, [[Cologne]] and [[Frankfurt]].  These housing estates ({{lang|de|Siedlungen}}), were made necessary by the dreadful living conditions of pre-war urban tenements.  The 1919 [[Weimar Constitution]] in Article 155 stated that the state would "promote the object of assuring to every German a healthful habitation", but few homes were built until the economy stabilised in 1925.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

The new German housing estates were low-rise, no more than five stories, and in suburban settings.  Residents were provided access to light, air, and sun.  The size, shape, orientation and architectural style of Germany's public housing were informed by the recent experience of the Viennese, the Dutch, the anti-urban [[Garden City Movement]] in Britain, the new industrialized mass-production and pre-fabrication building techniques, the novel use of steel and glass, and by the progressive-liberal policies of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]].{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

In 1930 in the industrial city of {{lang|de|[[Dessau]]|italic=no}}, the {{lang|de|[[Laubenganghäuser]]}} ('Houses with Balcony Access') were designed by [[Bauhaus]] director {{lang|de|[[Hannes Meyer]]|italic=no}} for a [[housing cooperative]] that wanted apartments it could let for no more than a quarter of the occupant's income. Working on a tight budget inspired money and space saving innovations, such as using balcony walkways for access to the apartments rather than having internal corridors and clever use of the internal space in the {{convert|47|m2|abbr=on|adj=on}} apartments.<ref>[https://www.laubenganghaeuser.de/ Wohnungsgenossenschaft Dessau. Laubenganghäuser – UNESCO Welterbestätte Bauhaus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412110919/https://www.laubenganghaeuser.de/ |date=12 April 2019 }}. Retrieved 29 December 2018</ref><ref>Dr. Helga Huskamp (ed.) (2017) [https://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/en/talks/houses-with-balcony-access.html Bauhaus Dessau. Talks. Houses with Balcony Access.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527080549/https://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/en/talks/houses-with-balcony-access.html |date=27 May 2021 }} Film 7:30 min. Retrieved 29 December 2018</ref>

[[File:Taut Wilskistrasse Berlin.jpeg|thumb|{{lang|de|[[Bruno Taut]]|italic=no}}, Uncle Tom's Cabin Estate, {{lang|de|Wilskistrasse|italic=no}}, Berlin.|182x182px]]

Architects {{lang|de|[[Martin Wagner (architect)|Martin Wagner]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|de|[[Bruno Taut]]|italic=no}} and others built the [[Berlin Modernism Housing Estates]], now a [[World Heritage Site]], consisting of thousands of homes built in and around Berlin, including the [[Horseshoe Estate]] (named for its shape), and ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' estate (named after a local restaurant).<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239 UNESCO. Berlin Modern Housing Estates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228161839/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239 |date=28 February 2012 }}. Retrieved 3 January 2019</ref> In Frankfurt the architect {{lang|de|[[Ernst May]]|italic=no}} lead the [[New Frankfurt]] public housing project, in which over 12,000 apartments were built 1925–1930. May ran his own sizable research facility to investigate, for instance, air-flow in various floorplan configurations, construction techniques, etc.  The Austrian architect {{lang|de|[[Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky]]|italic=no}} applied the principles of [[Taylorism]] to the kitchen workspace and developed the [[Frankfurt kitchen]] while working for {{lang|de|Ernst May|italic=no}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Leill Levine |title=Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Architecture: Being the Kahn Lectures for 1930 |year=2008 |page=ix }}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0128-310, Berlin, Marzahn, Neubaugebiet, Wohnblocks.jpg|thumb|180x180px|{{lang|de|Berlin-[[Marzahn]]|italic=no}}, the largest [[East German]] {{lang|de|Neubaugebiet}} (''"New development area"''), 1987.|alt=]]
Beyond technical research May also published two magazines and embarked on a significant public-relations project, with films and classes and public exhibitions, to make {{lang|de|[[Neues Bauen]]}} acceptable to the public.  In the late 1920s the principles of equal access to {{lang|de|Licht, Luft und Sonne}} ('light, air and sun') and the social effects of a state-guaranteed {{lang|de|Existenzminimum}} ("minimum subsistence level") became a matter of lively popular debate all over Germany.  One indirect result of this publicity was the American housing movement: a young [[Catherine Bauer]] attended one of May's conferences in 1930, and wrote her influential book ''Modern Housing'' (1934) based on research done in Frankfurt and with Dutch architect {{lang|nl|[[JJP Oud]]|italic=no}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Catherine Bauer |year=1974 |title=Modern Housing |location=New York |publisher=Arno Press |orig-year=1934 }}</ref>

Increasing pressure from the rising [[Nazism|Nazis]] brought this era to an end in 1933.  A majority of the German public housing experts had social democrat or communist sympathies and were forced out of the country.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

In [[East Germany]], the communist administration built monolithic {{lang|de|[[Plattenbau]]}} apartment blocks and estates. Most new residential buildings from the 1960s onward were built in this style, as it was a quick and relatively cheap way to solve the country's severe housing shortage, which had been caused by wartime bombing raids and the [[flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|large influx of German refugees from further east]].{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

=== Hungary ===
{{Main|Panelház}}
[[File:Budapest-Kispest 1.JPG|thumb|195x195px|Panelház in [[Budapest]]-[[Kispest]].]]

{{lang|hu|Panelház}} (short form: {{lang|hu|panel}}) is the name of a type of [[block of flats]] ([[panel building]]s) in [[Hungary]]. It was the main [[housing types|housing type]] built in the [[People's Republic of Hungary|Socialist era]]. From 1959 to 1990 788,000 panel [[apartment|flat]]s were built in Hungary. About 2 million people, about one fifth of the [[Demographics of Hungary|country's total population]], live in these flats. The Hungarian government and local municipalities began a renovation program during the 2000s. In the program they have insulated these buildings, replaced the old doors and windows with multi-layer thermo glass, renewed the heating system and colored the buildings in a more pleasant way.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://budapestcorner.com/index.php/flats/general-information |title=General information on various student flats and building types in Budapest |publisher=Budapest Corner |access-date=11 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214123942/http://budapestcorner.com/index.php/flats/general-information |archive-date=14 December 2010 }}</ref>

=== Ireland ===
In Ireland, public housing and [[halting site]]s (sites used by semi-nomadic [[Irish Traveller|Traveller]] communities) have been built by local authorities and are known as [[Local Authority Accommodation]]. [[Dublin Corporation]] and the former [[Dublin County Council]] provided the lion's share of Irish local authority housing, with [[County Longford]] having the largest ratio of local authority to private housing in the state.

Large-scale social housing was erected in the 1930s and 1960s, with both cases following [[slum clearance]].<ref name="Kelly">{{Cite news|last=Kelly|first=Olivia|title=A century of housing: How the State built Ireland's homes|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/a-century-of-housing-how-the-state-built-ireland-s-homes-1.3785939|access-date=2021-12-07|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207215657/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/a-century-of-housing-how-the-state-built-ireland-s-homes-1.3785939|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics argue that the National Building Agency focused too much on housing delivery, and failed to deliver retail and other services.<ref name="Kelly"/>

The government has promoted tenant purchase on favourable terms, and many former social housing areas are now completely or almost completely privately owned. Housing associations, or independent, nonprofit charities, now play a significant role in rental social housing provision.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Citizensinformation.ie|title=Housing associations and co-operatives|url=https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/local_authority_and_social_housing/housing_associations.html|access-date=2021-12-07|website=www.citizensinformation.ie|language=en|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207215725/https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/local_authority_and_social_housing/housing_associations.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As the Irish state's ability to borrow is diminished government policy favours an increased role for private financing of housing associations instead of capital grants for local authorities. Ireland currently faces a severe shortage of social and council housing, and is experiencing a housing and homelessness crisis.<ref>{{Cite news|last=O’Loughlin|first=Ed|date=2019-08-08|title=Housing Crisis Grips Ireland a Decade After Property Bubble Burst|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/world/europe/housing-crisis-ireland.html|access-date=2021-12-07|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207215654/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/world/europe/housing-crisis-ireland.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Netherlands ===

In the [[Netherlands]], the rent for the cheaper rental homes is kept low through governmental oversight and regulation. These types of homes are known as {{lang|nl|sociale huurwoningen}}.

In practice this is accomplished by non-profit private housing foundations or associations ({{lang|nl|toegelaten instellingen}}). Due to frequent mergers the number of these organizations dropped to around 430 by 2009. They manage 2.4&nbsp;million dwellings. The majority of low-rent apartments in the Netherlands are owned by such organisations. Since the policy changed in 1995 the social housing organizations have become financially independent, focusing on their role as social entrepreneurs.<ref name="Woningcorporatie">{{Cite web|title=Woningcorporatie|url=https://www.huurwoningen.nl/info/woningcorporatie/|access-date=2021-12-07|website=www.huurwoningen.nl|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207213406/https://www.huurwoningen.nl/info/woningcorporatie/|url-status=live}}</ref> In most Dutch municipalities there came to exist a certain minimum capacity of social housing throughout the last decades. In many cities such as [[Amsterdam]], [[The Hague]], [[Rotterdam]] and [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] the percentage of social housing approaches or even passes 50 percent. The public (financial) supervision is done by the central fund for housing ({{lang|nl|Centraal Fonds Volkshuisvesting}}).<ref name="Woningcorporatie"/>

The Dutch housing policy is based on a concept of universal access to affordable housing for all and the prevention of segregation. As of 2020, the Dutch government is attempting to build 10,000 housing units for the homeless, by 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Relations|first=Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom|date=2020-06-03|title=Additional 10,000 housing facilities for the homeless – News item – Dutch Housing Policy|url=https://www.dutchhousingpolicy.nl/latest/news/2020/06/03/additional-10000-housing-facilities-for-the-homeless|access-date=2021-12-07|website=www.dutchhousingpolicy.nl|language=en-GB|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205316/https://www.dutchhousingpolicy.nl/latest/news/2020/06/03/additional-10000-housing-facilities-for-the-homeless|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a Homeownership Guarantee Fund to support the National Mortgage Guarantee, which provides access to finance and purchase owner-occupied housing.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Relations|first=Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom|date=2020-06-18|title=National Mortgage Guarantee – Dutch Housing Policy|url=https://www.dutchhousingpolicy.nl/topics/national-mortgage-guarantee|access-date=2021-12-07|website=www.dutchhousingpolicy.nl|language=en-GB|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205555/https://www.dutchhousingpolicy.nl/topics/national-mortgage-guarantee|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2025 study found that the Dutch public housing system entails a misallocation of housing with welfare losses. The study found that the Dutch system of "public housing induces a transfer of housing from younger households, single-person households and households from outside the region to older households, larger households and households from the region."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Buurma-Olsen |first1=Jennifer |last2=Kost |first2=Hans R. A. |last3=van Ommeren |first3=Jos |last4=Damsté |first4=Jort Sinninghe |date=2025 |title=Quantifying misallocation of public housing |journal=Journal of Public Economics |volume=242 |pages=105272 |doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105272 |issn=0047-2727|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Romania ===
{{Main|Systematization (Romania)}}
[[File:2017 Victory Square, Bucharest.jpg|thumb|Government built housing in [[Bucharest]], Romania.|alt=]]

The skyline of many Romanian cities became dominated by standardized apartment blocks under the former communist government's policy of tower bloc construction. Beginning in 1974, systematization consisted largely of the demolition and reconstruction of existing villages, towns, and cities, in whole or in part, with the stated goal of turning Romania into a "multilaterally developed socialist society". In 2012, 2.7&nbsp;million flats date from the communist period, accounting for 37% of total housing in Romania and for about 70% in cities and towns. Subsequent to post-communist privatization, the homeownership rate in this form of housing reached of 99.9%.<ref>NIS, 2010 Statistical Yearbook 2010: Time Series 1990–2009 (National Institute of Statistics: Bucharest) http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/pages/anuarstatistic2010.en.do {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113154228/http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/pages/anuarstatistic2010.en.do |date=13 November 2012 }}</ref> The new Home Owner Associations (HOAs) were challenged internally by the cumulative effect of defaulting contributions, lack of affordability and the established practice of casual resident service in HOAs, which often triggered mismanagement. On the other hand, HOAs were challenged from outside by non-effective mechanisms to address their internal problems, such as non-existent fast court procedures against defaulting, poor financial assistance to socially disadvantaged households and a private sector unprepared to take on condominium management.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Soaita | first1 = A. M. | year = 2012 | title = Strategies for in-situ home improvement in Romanian large housing estates | url = http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/147159/1/147159.pdf| journal = Housing Studies | volume = 27 | issue = 7| pages = 1008–1030 | doi = 10.1080/02673037.2012.725833 | hdl = 10023/4562 | s2cid = 52208020 }}</ref>

=== Spain ===
[[File:Viviendas de Protección Oficial en Astillero.jpg|250px|thumb|Public housing, winner of an [[environmental design]] award, in {{lang|es|[[El Astillero]], [[Cantabria]]|italic=no}}, Spain.]]
[[File:Barriodelasflores5.jpg|thumb|Public housing in [[La Coruña]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], ([[Spain]]).]]

Spaniards' reluctance to home rental, and government spending cuts in the 1980s, reduced rented public housing in Spain to a minimum. Rented public houses were relatively common in the [[Francoist Spain|Franco era]] (1939–75). With the advent of [[History of Spain (1975–present)|democracy]] and the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978|1978 Constitution]], the right to housing became guaranteed, and the management of social housing depended mostly on the [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous regions]].<ref name="housingeurope.eu">{{Cite web|title=Social Housing in Europe {{!}} Housing Europe|url=https://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-124/social-housing-in-europe|access-date=2021-12-07|website=www.housingeurope.eu|language=en|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207193832/https://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-124/social-housing-in-europe|url-status=live}}</ref> This resulted in a wide variety of laws, which make the issue highly dependent on the region.

In spite of this, a scheme for {{lang|es|[[:es:Viviendas de protección oficial|viviendas de protección oficial]]}} (VPO) has been widely used, consisting of local councils allowing for building contractors and developers to build in public sites or with public loans on condition that a certain percentage of apartments remain subsidized and under control of the local authorities. This is known as {{lang|es|VPO de promoción privada}} ('privately developed'), as opposed to the {{lang|es|VPO de promoción pública}} ('publicly developed'), in which the whole property is owned and managed by a government authority. Publicly developed housing is made almost exclusively for owner-occupation, not rent, and made up 11% of the housing stock in 2010.<ref name="housingeurope.eu"/>

A new plan ({{lang|es|Plan estatal español de vivienda y rehabilitación para el período 2009–2012}}) was put forward by the {{lang|es|[[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero|Rodríguez Zapatero]]|italic=no}} government, aiming to make near a million homes available for public housing, relying both on new construction and refurbishment of unused houses.
	
Major parts of Spanish cities have been expanded {{citation needed|date=June 2018}} in the last 20 years with projects heavily dependent on public and collective housing projects, which has stressed its importance inside the main architecture schools, that have answered the challenge with the development of several specialized courses and formation plans, such as the Madrid UPM – ETH Zurich combined MCH Master in Collective Housing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mchmaster.com/ |title=MCH: Master in Collective Housing |language=es |access-date=2018-06-06 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612211149/https://www.mchmaster.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Sweden ===
{{Main|Million Programme}}
[[File:Apartment complex in Rosengård, Malmö.jpg|thumb|Tower block buildings in {{lang|sv|[[Rosengård]], [[Malmö]]}}]]

Swedish public housing, handled by {{lang|sv|allmännyttiga bostadsföretag}} (public-good housing companies), consists mainly [[apartment]]s owned by the local council. Unlike many other countries, Swedish public housing has never had any income restrictions. Instead, for large parts of the period between 1920 and 1990 (for instance, during the era of [[Million Programme]]), public housing companies such as {{lang|sv|[[Svenska Bostäder]]|italic=no}} were the major operators in housing projects as well as in projects aiming to acquire old and worn down buildings. Although not carrying out housebuilding nor acquisition projects in recent times, the policies lead to a ubiquitous presence of publicly owned buildings throughout the cities of Sweden, including attractive urban areas, with a rather wide range of income among the tenants.

New regulations, implemented in the first decade of the 21st century, have enabled tenants in public housing to buy their buildings, which has led to a significant loss of public housing in attractive urban areas.

=== Slovakia and Czechia ===
{{Further|Panelák}}
[[Image:Sídlisko III z Kalvárie.JPG|thumb|right|[[Sídlisko III]] in [[Prešov]], [[Slovakia]].]]
Forms of housing projects may vary in [[Slovakia]]. In the former [[Czechoslovakia]] (now [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]]) during the [[Communist era of Czechoslovakia|communist era]], a construction of large [[housing estate]]s ({{Langx|sk|[[sídlisko]]}}, {{Langx|cs|sídliště}}) was an important part of building plans in the former Czechoslovakia. The government wanted to provide large quantities of fast and [[affordable housing]] and to slash costs by employing uniform designs over the whole country. They also sought to foster a "collectivist nature" in people. People living in these housing projects can either usually own their [[apartment]]s or rent them, usually through a private landlord. There's usually a mix of [[social class]]es in these housing projects.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zachrante nase panelaky, tlaci na EU Cesko|url=http://reality.ihned.cz/1-10009430-15804060-K00000_detail-92|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822011039/http://reality.ihned.cz/1-10009430-15804060-K00000_detail-92|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-08-22|last=iHNed.cz|website=ihned.cz/|language=cs|access-date=2020-05-01}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
{{Main|Public housing in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Blackfriars, Salford.jpg|thumb|upright|A variety of social housing in [[City of Salford|Salford]], [[Greater Manchester]], England.]]
[[File:Park Hill, Sheffield, Yorkshire 19th January 2020.jpg|thumb|[[Park Hill, Sheffield|Park Hill]] in [[Sheffield]], [[Yorkshire]], England.]]
[[File:Cwmbran tower block.jpg|thumb|200px |A local-authority 20-storey tower block in [[Cwmbran]], [[South Wales]].|alt=]]

In the United Kingdom public housing is often referred to by the British public as "[[council house|council housing]]" and "council estates", based on the historical role of district and borough councils in running public housing. Mass council house building began in about 1920 in order to replace older and dilapidated properties.<ref name="Hollow 2011"/> This followed the [[Addison Act|1919 'Addison' Act]] and the provision of central state subsidies; some local authority or municipal housing was provided before 1914.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newcastleareas.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/100-years-exhibition-the-1919-act/|title=100 years exhibition – the 1919 Act|last=Geography|first=Kay's|date=11 August 2019|website=Newcastle residential areas|language=en|access-date=2019-08-12|archive-date=12 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812152933/https://newcastleareas.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/100-years-exhibition-the-1919-act/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Housing was a major policy area under [[First Wilson ministry|Wilson's Labour government]], 1964 to 1970, with an accelerated pace of new building, as there was still a great deal of unfit housing needing replacement. Tower blocks, first built in the 1950s, featured prominently in this era. The proportion of council housing rose from 42% to 50% of the nation's housing total,<ref name="shorthistory">A Short History of the Labour Party by Alastair J. Reid and Henry Pelling</ref> while the number of council homes built increased steadily, from 119,000 in 1964 to 133,000 in 1965 and to 142,000 in 1966.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

Allowing for demolitions, 1.3&nbsp;million new homes were built between 1965 and 1970.<ref>Thorpe, Andrew. (2001) ''A History of the British Labour Party'', Palgrave, {{ISBN|978-0-333-92908-7}}</ref> To encourage home ownership, the government introduced the Option Mortgage Scheme (1968), which made low-income house buyers eligible for subsidies (equivalent to [[mortgage interest relief at source|tax relief on mortgage interest payments]]).<ref>Housing policy: an introduction by Paul N. Balchin and Maureen Rhoden</ref> This scheme had the effect of reducing housing costs for buyers on low incomes.<ref name="autogenerated2">Capitalism and public policy in the UK by Tom Burden and Mike Campbell</ref>

Since the 1970s, non-profit [[housing association]]s have been operating an increasing share of social housing properties in the United Kingdom.  From 1996 they have also been known as Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), and public housing has been referred to as "social housing" to encompass both councils and RSLs.  Despite being non-profit based, RSLs generally charge higher rents than councils.  However, the Westminster Government introduced a "rent re-structuring" policy for housing associations in England in 2002, which aimed to bring council and RSL rents into line in England by 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=27/01 Rent influencing regime – implementing the rent restructuring framework| url=http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.2370|publisher=[[Housing Corporation]]| access-date=19 December 2012 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100113205514/http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.2370|archive-date=13 January 2010 |date=22 October 2001}}</ref> Local planning departments may require private-sector developers to offer "affordable housing" as a condition of [[planning permission]] ([[section 106 agreement]]).  This accounts for another £700m of Government funding each year for tenants in part of the United Kingdom. As of 2012, Housing Associations are now also referred to as "Private Registered Providers of Social Housing" (PRPs).<ref>{{cite web|title=Housing association homes|url=https://www.gov.uk/housing-association-homes/apply-for-a-home|publisher=[[GOV.UK]]|access-date=19 December 2012|archive-date=30 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030103909/https://www.gov.uk/housing-association-homes/apply-for-a-home|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Ferry Lane Estate.JPG|thumb|left|1970s council housing in [[London Borough of Haringey|Haringey]], North London.]]

Local authorities have been discouraged from building council housing since 1979 following the election of Conservative leader [[Margaret Thatcher]] as prime minister.  The [[Parker Morris Committee|Parker Morris]] standard was abolished for those that were built, resulting in smaller room sizes and fewer facilities. The [[Right to Buy Scheme|Right to Buy]] was introduced, resulting in the move of some of the best stock from public tenanted to private owner occupation.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

Since the year 2000, "choice-based lettings" (CBL)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingmanagementcare/choicebasedlettings/ |title=Choice-Based Lettings |author=Housing |work=Content under review |access-date=14 September 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080627184309/http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingmanagementcare/choicebasedlettings/ |archive-date = 27 June 2008}}</ref> have been introduced to help ensure social housing was occupied speedily as tenants moved. This can still favour the local over the non-local prospective tenant.  In a number of local authority areas, due to the shortage of council housing, three out of four properties may be designated for priority cases (those living in poor overcrowded conditions, with medical or welfare needs, or needing family support) or homeless applicants in order to meet the councils' legal obligations to rehouse people in need.  The percentage of properties set aside for vulnerable groups will vary dependent on the demand for council housing in the area.  All local authorities have a Housing Strategy to ensure that council houses are let fairly and fulfil the council's legal obligations; deal with people in need; and contribute to sustainability of housing estates, neighbourhood regeneration, and social inclusion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/strategiesandreviews/localauthorityhousing/ |title=Local authority strategic housing role |author=Housing |work=Content under review |access-date=14 September 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080328105627/http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/strategiesandreviews/localauthorityhousing/ |archive-date = 28 March 2008}}</ref>

The 1997–2010 Labour Government wished to move council housing away from local authority management.  At first, this was through Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVT) of stock from councils to Housing Associations (HAs).  Not all council property could be transferred, as in some local authorities, their housing stock was in poor condition and had a capital value less than the remaining debts from construction costs—in effect, the council stock was in negative equity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cih.org/display.php?db=policies&id=62 |title=Response Paper |year=1999 |publisher=Chartered Institute of Housing |access-date=14 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721062619/http://www.cih.org/display.php?db=policies&id=62 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In some local authority areas, the tenants rejected the transfer option.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/council-tenants-vote-against-housing-transfer-plans-656887.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128190744/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/council-tenants-vote-against-housing-transfer-plans-656887.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2012 |title=Council tenants vote against housing transfer plans |author=Lorna Duckworth |date=9 April 2002 |department=Social Affairs Correspondent  |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=14 September 2010}}</ref>

The Labour Government introduced a "third way": the [[Arms Length Management Organisation]] (ALMO), where the housing stock stays with the Local Authority but is managed by a not-for-profit organisation at arm's length from the Local Authority.  It also introduced the [[Decent Homes Standard|Decent Homes]] programme, a capital fund to bring social housing up to a modern physical standard.  To use this fund, the manager, whether ALMO or HA, had to achieve a 2 or 3 star rating from its inspection by the [[Audit Commission (United Kingdom)|Audit Commission]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/housing/inspection/pages/default.aspx |title=Housing inspections |access-date=14 September 2010 |archive-date=17 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217175917/http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/housing/inspection/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> This was intended to drive up management standards.  Council landlords cannot access this funding, another incentive to transfer management of council housing to an ALMO or HA.

Governments since the early 1990s have also encouraged "mixed [[housing tenure|tenure]]" in regeneration areas and on "new-build" housing estates, offering a range of ownership and rental options, with a view to engineering social harmony through including "social housing" and "[[affordable housing]]" options. A recent research report<ref>[http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/chp/hsa/papers/tunstall.pdf The Promotion of 'Mixed Tenure': In Search of the Evidence Base] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026194051/http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/chp/hsa/papers/tunstall.pdf |date=26 October 2005 }} Paper by Dr. Rebecca Tunstall on tenure mixing</ref> has argued that the evidence base for tenure mixing remains thin. Social housing occupants may be stigmatised and forced to use a [[poor door]] that is separate and less convenient than the door the unsubsidised occupants use and social housing may be less desirably situated.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jul/30/poor-door-social-housing-apartheid|title='Poor doors': not the worst thing about social housing|first=Oliver|last=Wainwright|newspaper=The Guardian|date=30 July 2014|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510120334/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jul/30/poor-door-social-housing-apartheid|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the adoption of [[austerity#United Kingdom|austerity]] policies in 2010 the traditional "safety net" model was maintained by the devolved administrations like the [[Scottish Parliament|Scottish]] and [[Senedd|Welsh]] Parliaments and the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]].<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Mark|last1=Stephens|url=http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/220445/1/220445.pdf|title=Social Rented Housing in the (DIS)United Kingdom: Can Different Social Housing Regime Types Exist within the Same Nation State?|doi=10.1080/17535069.2017.1381760|journal=Urban Research and Practice|date=September 16, 2017|volume=12|issn=	1753-5069|oclc=	8017236155|pages=38–60|s2cid=158854423 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106235229/http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/220445/1/220445.pdf|archive-date=November 6, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
  
Most UK social housing tenants have the right to swap homes with another tenant even if their landlords are different. This is called a "[[mutual exchange]]".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bray|first=Abbie|date=2018-04-11|title=Council house exchange – how it works and what the rules are|url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/uk-world-news/council-house-exchange-how-works-1444222|access-date=2021-03-07|website=CornwallLive|language=en|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422032241/https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/uk-world-news/council-house-exchange-how-works-1444222|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of 2017, in England, local authorities can destinate homeless households in local tenancies, whereas in Scotland social housing remained the first chosen policy.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.i-sphere.hw.ac.uk/social-rented-housing-in-the-disunited-kingdom/|title=Social Rented Housing in the (Dis)United Kingdom|doi=10.1080/17535069.2017.1381760|date=October 5, 2017|journal=Urban Research and Practice|s2cid=158854423|access-date=May 27, 2021|archive-date=27 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527085716/https://www.i-sphere.hw.ac.uk/social-rented-housing-in-the-disunited-kingdom/|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the [[Museum of Homelessness]], in 2020 the UK recorded at least 976 deaths among homeless people.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Clea|last1=Skopeliti|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/22/uk-homeless-deaths-rise-by-more-than-a-third-in-a-year-study-finds|title=UK homeless deaths rise by more than a third in a year, study finds|date=February 22, 2021|access-date=May 27, 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=27 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527102726/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/22/uk-homeless-deaths-rise-by-more-than-a-third-in-a-year-study-finds|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019 England and Wales estimated 778 deaths with an increase of 7.2% on the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwales/2019registrations#glossary|title=Deaths of homeless people in England and Wales: 2019 registrations|date=October 1, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210527100649/https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwales/2019registrations%23glossary|archive-date=May 27, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Former Soviet Union ===
{{See also|Khrushchyovka|Stalinka|Brezhnevka|Housing construction in the Soviet Union}}

[[File:Москва_улица_Бехтерева_37.jpg|thumb|left|12-story [[Tower block|residential buildings]] of late USSR, [[Moscow]], Russia]]
[[File:EU-EE-Tallinn-PT-Kopli-Kopliranna_24.JPG|thumb|Refurbished 5-story [[Khrushchyovka]], winter in [[Tallinn]], [[Estonia]]]]
In the [[Soviet Union]], most of the houses built after World War II were usually 3–5 stories high, with small apartments. In these boroughs, the goal was saving space and creating as many apartments as possible. Construction starting in the 1970s favored 9- and 16-story concrete panel municipal housing in major cities, 7–12 stories in smaller urban areas. These housing projects are still used in some countries, especially in countries in [[Central and Eastern Europe|central and eastern Europe]], and most of them are slowly being renovated.