Renters from Around the World Speak Up
Social Housing for All:
We must provide social housing for all. Around the world, examples show that social housing works.1 Cities with robust social housing programs are eliminating homelessness. Social housing programs have successfully reversed affordable housing shortages, and raised whole populations out of poverty, into prosperity. And cities with some of the strongest social housing programs have been deemed the most livable in the world, because of their quality affordable housing.
By social housing, we mean a public option for housing that is permanently and deeply affordable, forever protected from the private market, and publicly owned by the government or under democratic community control by non-profit entities. Social housing must include structures for resident management and tenant power. By first prioritizing those most in need – low-income households and people of color with the least housing options – social housing can help advance racial, economic, and gender justice. Social housing – through government intervention to produce and guarantee housing for human needs, and not profit – is the lasting solution to our affordable housing crisis.
But in recent decades, corporate control over our homes has expanded. The largest corporate landlords and predatory Wall Street investment funds have increased their ownership of vast amounts of real estate. They have targeted Black and Brown communities, threatening the roofs over our heads by causing rents to skyrocket, while ruthlessly driving speculation, evictions, and poor living conditions in service of their profits. This stranglehold over housing by for-profit investors and corporate landlords is at the root of our housing affordability crisis. And it’s worsening our lack of affordable housing stock. For-profit investors and landlords have destroyed lower-priced homes, only to build new housing that is mostly priced at the luxury end.2
Renters across the globe are leading the way in pushing back.
In this interview series, we speak with renters and organizers who live in social housing around the world, about their experiences with the social housing programs in their cities and countries, to lift up benefits and lessons. We pay special attention to the impact on immigrants and renters of color. We also speak with renters rising up and organizing against the corporate control of housing across the globe, about their strategies and inspirational wins.
This interview series complements our full report on model social housing policy, Social Housing for All: A Vision for Thriving Communities, Renter Power, and Racial Justice. For more information, check out the report!
For more information, see our report, “Social Housing for All: A Vision for Thriving Communities, Renter Power, and Racial Justice.”
Ibid.
Sweden: Tenants Organize to Defend Public Housing for All
Sweden has a long history of inspirational tenant organizing. Its National Tenants Union, founded in 1923, organized mutual aid, won gains for tenants, and helped to establish the country’s public housing policies.
Today, the National Tenants Union in Sweden has over 500,000 member households, and bargains rent on behalf of 3 million tenants. Negotiations happen from the local to national level. Tenant unions have oversight to monitor whether rent increases, including those for renovations, are actually necessary and fair, while court processes work out disagreements with landlords. Through the above system, rents increased an average of 0.8 to 2.8 percent annually in the past decade.
Finland: On Track to End Homelessness
Finland is the only country in the European Union where homelessness is decreasing. It has recorded declining homelessness since 1987, when it launched new policies to tackle homelessness and began keeping records. Today, Finland’s renowned “Housing First” approach gives unhoused people an apartment and counseling as soon as they need them – with no preconditions.
Vienna: Beautiful, Quality Social Housing
When it comes to high-quality social housing at scale, few places in the world compare to the city of Vienna, Austria. One million people – most of Vienna’s population – live in social housing. Vienna has the highest percent of its housing stock dedicated to social housing, among major cities in Europe.
Madrid: Renters Organize Against Blackstone And Win!
Around a hundred households in Madrid Tenants Union beat back a 100% rent increase, resisted eviction, and won a contract from Blackstone where the corporate landlord has agreed to a one-time 8% rent increase, followed by no rent increases for seven years.
Berlin: Voters Approve Taking Back Property Owned by Corporate Landlords!
Referendum would seize properties of corporate landlords that own more than 3,000 apartments – and convert these to social housing.
Acknowledgements
This interview series was written and researched by Amee Chew (Center for Popular Democracy). Abby Ang provided interview support, Jeanette Martin designed it, and it was reviewed by Katie Goldstein and Maggie Corser (Center for Popular Democracy).