Institutional Environment and Housing Conditions in the European Union

Abstract

There is no housing policy at the level of the European Union. Therefore, it is the domain of national options. There are also big differences between individual Member States. Despite that, the basic feature of the housing policies has been privatisation in most European countries over the last twenty years. It means transferring the responsibility for housing provision from the state to the market and formation of financial networks within which an individual can provide his or her housing. In nearly all EU Member States, including Slovenia, a major volume of selective allocation of housing construction for the market and a higher level of housing quality are noticeable. The purpose of this paper is to present the housing policies and the housing market conditions in Slovenia, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden and Spain. On the basis of the comparative analysis of the selected countries, we tried to present characteristics, differences or similarities in the housing standard. They are reflected in the quality, availability and accessibility of the housing stock. KEY WORDS: • housing market • housing policy • quality • availability • accessibility • housing stock • Slovenia • Great Britain • Germany • Sweden • Spain