socio-economics of housing research department institute of sociology, academy of sciences, czech...

Socio-Economics of Housing Research DepartmentInstitute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

Housing system: a determinant of supply of housing options to elderly and people with

disabilities

Martin LUX

Institute of Sociology CAS

Jilská 1, 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic

[email protected]

This project is implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by the ERDF

HELPS International ConferenceHELPS International Conference26. February 2013, Ljubljana, Slovenia26. February 2013, Ljubljana, SloveniaHELPS International ConferenceHELPS International Conference

26. February 2013, Ljubljana, Slovenia26. February 2013, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Main research question

The main research question for our analysis is following: Has the nature of housing system (housing tenure structure) a significant influence on the diversity and scope of innovations in supply of housing options to elderly and people with disabilities?

The research on mutual association between housing systems and the scope of housing options available to elderly is new and has clear policy implications: if housing system determines or limits the supply of housing options to elderly then it would imply that measures (practices) effective in one housing system will probably not be effective in other housing system.

Due to the limited number of countries the results could not be generalized but our sample consists of countries with very different housing systems and, consequently, allows for partial analysis of this kind.

2



Housing system categorization

DE: social market system, private renting solutions and flexible social housing.

AT: social democratic system (80 % of all new constructed housing are co-financed from public sources), social housing.

SK, SI, HU: liberal/super-homeownership system, owner-occupied housing (almost no private and social renting); especially HU: “there is no real market for rental apartments, there is no choice for the residents.”

IT, CZ, PL: mixed system with increasing role of owner-occupied housing and residualisation of private/social renting.

Tenure structure

Elderly have higher homeownership rate (DE 48%; HU 97%)

3

AT

(2001)CZ

(2011)DE

(2003)HU

(2005)IT

(2008)PL

(2002)SK

(2008)SI

OO 53 75 38 94 75 68 95 93PR 18 9 43 3 15 9 2 1P/SH/CHcla 22 9 14 3 5 20 3 5O 7 7 5 - 6 3 - 1



Supply of housing options supporting “ageing in place”

Usually more than 90% of seniors live in a „normal“ own or rented flat BUT diversity and innovations in supply of housing options for elderly vary:

Developed model: wider scale of alternatives (and innovations) both in housing affordability (housing allowances, „agreed rent“, social rent, incentives for developers), and in housing accessibility (allowances for technology-assisted living, ICT, architectonical adjustments of flats; lifelong housing in new built flats, co-housing, collaborative housing): DE, AT.

Semi-developed model: IT.

Basic model with a renewal of social housing: more extensive support for construction of social flats (designed also for the elderly), otherwise basic (usually universal) offer of allowances, limited innovations AND insufficient housing allowance (SK), only temporary support for social housing (PL, SI, CZ), no support for adjustments of flats (SI): SK, PL, SI, CZ

Basic model without a renewal of social housing: HU.

4



GDP per capita (2011) and social protection benefits (2009)

5

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure for the economic activity. It is defined as the value of all goods and services produced less the value of any goods or services used in their creation. The volume index of GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) is expressed in relation to the European Union (EU-27) average set to equal 100. If the index of a country is higher than 100, this country's level of GDP per head is higher than the EU average and vice versa. Basic figures are expressed in PPS, i.e. a common currency that eliminates the differences in price levels between countries allowing meaningful volume comparisons of GDP between countries. Please note that the index, calculated from PPS figures and expressed with respect to EU-27 = 100, is intended for cross-country comparisons rather than for temporal comparisons.Source: Eurostat



Old-age dependency ratio, 2011

6

Note: This indicator is defined as the number of persons aged 65 and over expressed as a percentage of the number of persons aged between 15 and 64.Source: Eurostat



Poverty rate and income inequality, 2010

7

Note: At-risk-of-poverty rate of older people = the share of persons with an equivalised disposable income, before social transfers, below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 % of the national median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers). Retirement and survivor's pensions are counted as income before transfers and not as social transfers.Income inequality for older people = the ratio of total income received by the 20 % of the population with the highest income (top quintile) to that received by the 20 % of the population with the lowest income (lowest quintile). Income must be understood as equivalised disposable income.Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC.



Housing affordability for the elderly, 2009

8

Average ratios of housing expenditures among the elderly in ownership and rental sector

Note: average ratios of household housing expenditures to net household incomes – households of the elderly.Source: EU SILC 2009, own calculations.



Inequalities in housing affordability

9

Differences in the ratios of household housing expenditures between the households of elderly with the highest income (5th quintile) and the lowest income (1st quintile)

Source: EU SILC 2009; households of the elderly.


26. February 2013, Ljubljana, Slovenia26. February 2013, Ljubljana, SloveniaForm of housing support – support by new construction of affordable housing

10

Number of dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants

Source: Housing Statistics in the European Union 2010.



Results of data analysis

QCA is a new method used in comparative qualitative sociology or comparative politics. QCA allows studying causal conditions, even if the causality is very complex, involving different combinations of causal conditions capable generating the same outcome. QCA can be applied to research designs involving small and intermediate size, such as on samples between 5 and 50 cases.

Our hypothesis has been partially confirmed by QCA. Higher share of rental housing in the housing system of a country leads to more developed model of supply of housing options to elderly but only when the country has simultaneously higher GDP, higher old-age-dependency ratio and higher income inequality among elderly.

Housing system has been confirmed by our analysis as being a significant determinant (pre-condition) of broader and more innovative supply of housing options to elderly and people with disabilities.



Conclusions: interpretation of results

Cost-benefit analysis: even small „handy person“ changes can increase importance of subjective well-being and prevention of stress – adaptations also bring about reduced stress for family carers – bring reduced overall costs (due to earlier leave of hospital and later admission to institutional care)

However

the adaptations (innovations) are cost effective when the needs of the elderly are low or moderate (Pleace 2011), i.e. for the „younger“ disabled older people (Heywood, Turner 2007) + when considering long-term use rather than a short one (Lansley et al. 2004).

12




Long-term use (efficiency of public expenditures) may be better assured in rental housing: PRS (social market) is the contract on service provision on specific period of time with measurable outcomes (lower rent provision); SH (social democratic) is the permanent provision of service with measurable outcomes (lower than market rent).

On the opposite, when grants are allocated to homeowners, the term of use cannot be guaranteed as the public authority cannot force the owner (or his/her heirs) to use adapted flat for long term and to use it only by him or other eligible people (households).

13




The second problem represents the targeting of the public help, i.e. effectiveness of public support.

While the allocation of adapted dwellings to eligible households can be precisely specified in contracts with private landlords in the social market system and social landlords allocate dwellings especially to those with low income and wealth in social democratic system, the targeting of subsidies to homeowners in the liberal system is much more complicated.

There might be a large share of elderly called ‘income poor, equity rich’ in liberal system; these people may have a high housing wealth. The potential public subsidies would even more increase their wealth; and, moreover, the wealth is the subject to inheritance to their relatives.

Consequently, in liberal system the public authorities face the dilemma whether to support ‘wealthy’ people or not, and whether is it fair to increase the market value of dwellings of selected homeowners (and their heirs) by allocating them public grants.



Recommendations

There are clear LIMITS IN TRANSFERABILITY of best examples (or measures) from one housing system to another one. While social care is provided on tenure-neutral basis and is simply targeted according to health and social needs, the housing support takes into account also the housing tenure of target population. More balanced housing system (with substantial stock of rental housing) enables the existence of more innovations and higher diversity in housing options provided to elderly people.

Consequently, the housing policies, especially in post-socialist countries (having often super-homeownership/liberal housing system nowadays) should apply more BALANCED approach towards housing tenures and apply such measures that would increase size of RENTAL HOUSING, security of tenants and stability of rental housing.

15



Recommendations

There is NO SUPERIOR HOUSING TENURE. The housing standard and quality of life of elderly tenants may surpass the housing standard of homeowners, especially when poor elderly-homeowners (known well from post-socialist countries) do not have enough sources to undertake modernizations and adaptations of their own housing; and have very limited possibility to downsize their housing consumption (due to pressure from children, cultural barriers, lack of equity release products or generally lower willingness to move among homeowners than tenants).

The policy implication is again to apply tenure-neutral housing policy and increase tenure-neutral housing choice: POLICY OF CHOICE.

16

Thank you for your attention!

http://seb.soc.cas.cz

Socio-Economics of Housing Research DepartmentInstitute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

This project is implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by the ERDF

socio-economics of housing research department institute of sociology, academy of sciences, czech...

Documents