Handbook of best practices

SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

“While housing systems vary greatly all across Europe, the core elements of the social and affordable housing sector are itscommunity-driven nature and
main raison d’être to deliver decent, affordable homes with clear social impact.”

There is no single and agreed definition at European level of what constitutes social housing. A variety of approaches are implemented across the EU, in terms of tenures, providers, beneficiaries, funding arrangements. The general term ‘social housing’ is often used as a shortcut to refer to a range of different schemes even within a single country.
However, it is possible to identify core elements – the main ones being affordability and the existence of rules for the allocation of dwellings(i.e., allocation by administrative means, as opposed to market mechanisms).

According to the OECD, social (rental) housing is to be understood as ‘residential rental accommodation provided at sub-market prices andallocated according to specific rules’ (Salvi del Pero, A. et al., 2016). It’s important to note that social housing provision is usually subject toregulation from public authorities, and it is often provided by different levels of public administration either directly or through publichousing bodies/companies set with the purpose of implementing public policy in this area.

Therefore, although ‘some of these housing organisations can be described with traditional ‘state’, ‘market’ or ‘civil society’ labels, but manycorrespond in fact to hybrid organisational forms, encompassing characteristics of state, market and third sector organisations’ (Czischke,Gruis and Mullins, 2012).

The term ‘affordable housing’ is also used to refer to a range of types of housing provision which is usually broader than social housing – thefocus being rather on the outcomes in terms of affordability for end-users rather than on the specific framework and regulation around it.

A useful definition of affordability is ‘housing is affordable when housing of an acceptable minimum standard can be obtained and retainedleaving sufficient income to meet essential non-housing expenditure’ (Stephen, M. 2017). Furthermore, in the absence of any universallyagreed reference on this concept, a useful operational typology was developed in the framework of the EU Urban Agenda HousingPartnership, which sees ‘affordable housing’ as part of a ‘continuum’ including social housing as well as other low-cost rental housing andeven access to home ownership at reduced price (Rosenfeld, O. 2017).

DELIVERING ‘LIGHTHOUSE DISTRICTS’
STRETCHING OUR IMAGINATION OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE

To set Europe on a path to climate neutrality by 2050, it is crucial to accelerate the renovation of the building stock while preserving social fairness and affordability. Certainly, the energy transition promoted through the Renovation Wave needs to go beyond energy-efficient renovation alone. It needs to be about values and resilient communities, turning former no-go areas into places people are proud to live in; about providing decent affordable homes in places where people reach their full potential; and an opportunity to change from the linear to a circular system thinking approach. Projects with wider and long-term returns deserve to be recognised and further promoted.

Within this remit, escalating from the building to the neighbourhood or district level is becoming a necessary strategy not only to benefit from the economies of scale and attract larger investments, but also as the suitable scale to involve residents in co-managing the process of building cohesive, thriving communities.

The Handbook seeks to stretch the imagination of what is possible, create a new appetite to renovate better, and tap into a new level of ambition. It is the first step to help local partnerships look at their renovation projects from multiple angles and follow suit and go the extra mile in terms of technological, process, or social innovation, thus opt for delivering ‘lighthouse districts’ themselves.

In this book, we have identified good practices that represent integrated visions of renovation, involving social and affordable housing neighbourhoods. In the Consortium view, a project is
considered integrated as long as it goes the extra mile in at least two of the following areas:

Technical innovation: new techniques that encompass the use of green technologies and systems (renewables, circular, eco-design, serialised and/or modular renovation, energy systems, etc.), digital technologies and systems (smart buildings, energy prediction systems, 3D-scans, and simulations, etc.), and green and digital (energy monitoring, smart heating or cooling, etc.).

People-centred business models (energy communities, coinvestment models, resident empowerment models, innovative financial models that promote social innovation, access to health and social services, opportunities for social economy enterprises, improving social inclusion, and fighting energy poverty).

Experimentation of co-creation and engagement practices, engaging several disciplines (creative, green, digital, mobility).

…while keeping affordability and liveability at their core.

Download the short version of the Handbook – Delivering Affordable Housing ‘Lighthouse Districts’ in Europe

Download the full version of the Handbook – Handbook of Good Practices (project deliverable)