Social housing and urban renewal: Current Dutch policy

Abstract

The least popular urban districts are often dominated by social housing. In the Netherlands, the housing associations and the government reached a formal agreement in February 2007 to intervene in problem urban areas, 40 of which have been officially designated as priority neighbourhoods in need of special attention. This paper presents basic information about Dutch housing associations and the dynamics of Dutch policy on urban renewal. It sets out the proposals submitted by Aedes, the Dutch umbrella organisation of housing associations, on 2nd February, 2007. Five days later these proposals were incorporated in the Coalition Agreement of the current Cabinet of Balkenende IV. The current visions of the crucial role of social housing providers in urban renewal are explained and comments are made on the strategies of the government and the housing associations. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are offered for the Netherlands and for other EU member states where the position of the social housing sector is substantially different from the position of the social housing sector in the Netherlands. The role played by social housing providers in urban renewal in the Netherlands may serve as a source of inspiration for practitioners. In other EU countries, social housing providers (with a much smaller share of the housing market) may need more public subsidies and may resort more to selling rental properties.