Nordregio is an international research institute established by the Nordic Council of Ministers

1 April, 2022

Social housing – a forbidden issue in Sweden?

”There is no generally accepted definition of what social housing is. However, the smallest common denominators are that it is some form of subsidized housing with lower rents that is, at least partially, allocated to households on lower incomes and not just temporarily, but on long term contracts”, says Senior Research Fellow Anna Granath Hansson in the Swedish speaking radio programme ”Ett eget litet hem” on Sveriges Radio. Anna has just started at Nordregio and her main focus is housing.

Anna Granath Hansson

Social housing exists in the Nordics countries, but the topic is often seen as taboo in the Swedish political discussion.

”In Sweden, we are not used to housing policies that target certain groups. This is something new and often misunderstood. In this program, social housing is compared to social contracts for the most vulnerable. When we look at Nordic and European models, these are often much wider, encompassing also mid-income households.

Listen to the full episode here in Swedish: https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/om-hyresratten-social-housing-den-forbjudna-fragan

Social housing – a forbidden issue in Sweden?

Publication date: 1 April 2022

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