The Austrian System of Social Housing Finance
Institute for Real Estate, Construction and Housing
Download Document| Date Published | 2005 |
| Version | |
| Primary Author | Wolfgang Amann and Alexis Mundt |
| Other Authors | |
| Theme | Rental Housing |
| Country | Austria |
Abstract
There is a very good overall housing situation in Austria in terms of household housing expenses, living space, quality of the housing stock and low regional segregation. So far, Austria has not followed the general European trends in housing policy and also still attributes an important role to the social housing sector. In this paper we give an overview of the framework within which the social housing sector operates and how it is financed. We evaluate the economic and social efficiency of the system of limited-profit housing associations in Austria and their position between state and market. The institutional and legal framework, public subsidies and new methods in capital market financing play a decisive role in their success. Through competition with the private sector, the social housing sector has a price-containing influence on the general housing market prices. We regard major aspects of the Austrian model of social housing finance applicative for CEE and SEE countries. Austria, housing policy, social housing, market financing instruments