Defining Social Housing: A Discussion on the Suitable Criteria

In 2018, Anna Granath Hansson and Björn Lundgren sought to define "social housing" within a European context, a term they found to be ambiguous and inconsistently used. They reviewed literature from 2010 to 2017 and proposed a definition that would facilitate comparative research and policy-making. The authors identified five key criteria for social housing: target group, form of tenure, type of provider, public intervention, and subsidies. They concluded that social housing should be considered a system targeting households with limited financial resources, regardless of the form of tenure or type of provider, and that subsidies and an allocation system are necessary components. The definition was tested against the housing systems of Sweden and Germany, with Germany's system fitting the criteria. The paper highlighted the decline of social housing in Europe and the challenges in defining it due to diverse policies, noting the EU's recognition of the need for a common definition as policies become more restrictive.