Research project Adequate housing conditions: the role of housing benefits in Sweden and abroad

Housing benefits exist in nearly all European countries. They are usually put in place to reduce housing costs and improve housing conditions of low-income households. Despite the prominence of housing benefits in governments’ anti-poverty policies, inadequate housing conditions, such as overcrowding and insufficiencies in basic facilities, continue to be a widespread problem also in Sweden. Are housing benefits simply too low to effectively combat inadequate forms of housing, or are the processes leading to poor housing conditions more complex?

The project's working hypothesis is that integrated rental systems and comprehensive forms of income protection in periods of work incapacity, improve the possibilities of housing benefits to combat poor housing conditions. Recent developments in Sweden illustrate the need to analyze such interplays in policy. Although Sweden has one of the most generous housing benefits in Europe, the share of households reporting problems with their housing conditions has increased. Using comparative micro-level survey data for a large number of European countries together with new macro-level data on housing benefits, while integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses, the proposed project will make an important contribution to existing knowledge.