Precarious housing conditions are on the rise across Europe. Precarious housing refers to housing that is either unaffordable or unsuitable, for example, because it is overcrowded, in poor dwelling condition, poorly located or even unsafe. While there is much literature on the strong link between employment and housing insecurity and abundant investigations into different aspects of precarious housing, hardly any attempt has been made so far to provide a consolidated overview of the whole topic and thereby put these different facets into the joint perspective of housing-related poverty. This Critical Guide adds to the debate on causes, symptoms, consequences and possible solutions and makes them accessible for teaching, learning and self-study across multiple disciplines. It is the result of "PusH - Precarious Housing in Europe", a Strategic Partnership funded under Erasmus+. The seven chapters of this book examine a range of themes, focusing on how experiences of precarious housing intersect with other dynamics of precariousness, associated with insecure immigration status, racism and discrimination, class, wealth, and income disparities, and forms of homelessness and displacement. Each chapter draws on examples from across Europe to explore different experiences of precarious housing, and different responses to these conditions.

All countries aim to improve housing conditions for their citizens but many have been forced by the financial crisis to reduce government expenditure. Social housing is at the crux of this tension. Policy-makers, practitioners and academics want to know how other systems work and are looking for something written in clear English, where there is a depth of understanding of the literature in other languages and direct contributions from country experts across the continent. Social Housing in Europe combines a comparative overview of European social housing written by scholars with in-depth chapters written by international housing experts. The countries covered include Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands and Sweden, with a further chapter devoted to CEE countries other than Hungary. The book provides an up-to-date international comparison of social housing policy and practice. It offers an analysis of how the social housing system currently works in each country, supported by relevant statistics. It identifies European trends in the sector, and opportunities for innovation and improvement. These country-specific chapters are accompanied by topical thematic chapters dealing with subjects such as the role of social housing in urban regeneration, the privatisation of social housing, financing models, and the impact of European Union state aid regulations on the definitions and financing of social housing.

The growing literature on comparative European housing policy has played a major part in developing our understanding of the way housing in provided in different countries, and in the way the interaction between the stat, market and civil society is conceptualized. However, much of this analysis is rooted without question in the welfare states of northern Europe – there has been almost no research published in English on the provision of housing in southern Europe. Such research as exists deals with specific feature of housing policy, invariably in a single country. There is probably a better understanding of the housing systems of the former communist countries than those of southern Europe.

This timely book provides readers with a detailed comparative survey of tenure innovation and diversification in Europe. Alternative and intermediate tenures, i.e., housing options beyond tenancy and homeownership, are examined as remedies to address the growing European housing crisis.

While there is no overall shortage of housing in the EU, 3 million people are homeless and 18 million are housed in inadequate accommodation, that is, housing which lacks basic amenities, is structurally unsound, overcrowded, or does not offer security of tenure. This book seeks an understanding of the situation through a detailed analysis of the European housing market in both the private and state spheres. It offers the first EU wide examination of housing provision, its changing nature and impact on homelessness. The book identifies the institutional changes and policy prescriptions that are necessary to manage the demands of homelessness and inadequate housing among Europe's most vulnerable people.

First published in 1999. The phenomenon of homelessness is not new, but it has only recently been perceived as a social problem in European Member States. Even in the early 1990s little was known about the paths in and out of homelessness. This volume presents the papers arising from EUROHOME: Emergency and Transitory Housing for Homeless people: Needs and Best Practices. This project enabled a review of the state of knowledge in the field, an analysis of recent trends and a discussion of the prospects for improvement in the prevention of homelessness and the public response to housing in Europe. EUROHOME, and this collection, thus bring together experts in the study of: *

Engaging systematically with severe forms of poverty in Europe, this important book stimulates academic, public and policy debate by shedding light on aspects of deprivation and exclusion of people in absolute poverty in affluent societies. It examines issues such as access to health care, housing and nutrition, poverty related shame, and violence. The book investigates different policy and civic responses to extreme poverty, ranging from food donations to penalisation and “social cleansing” of highly visible poor and how it is related to concerns of ethics, justice and human dignity.