Housing policy
History
During the late 19th and early 20th century Sweden experienced a large population increase and a strong urbanisation trend, resulting in a housing crisis characterised by low living standards and widespread overcrowding. However it was not until the late 1930s that the Swedish municipalities and Government took measures to remedy the situation by stimulating housing production. This building initiative led to rental units being built exclusively for large families; however when World War II broke out all development ground to a halt.
During the mid 20th century the Swedish welfare state was created by the Social Democrats who were in power throughout this time. The aim of this development, called Folkhemmet ("the People’s Home"), was to eliminate differences between classes, provide public day-care for children, strengthen democracy and ensure that that not more than twenty percent of disposable income should be spent on housing.
In the immediate post-war period, Sweden still faced the problem of a shortage of housing and the housing stock still consisted of too many small apartments of a poor standard. In 1946 the Parliament passed a bill outlining the housing policy that would prevail for a long time to come. The focus, in this time of stable economic growth and labour immigration, was on extensive new construction programmes to "build away" the shortage of living space and raise the standard of living. The Government financed the building by subsidised loans and new not-for-profit companies were established, the majority of which came to be owned and managed by the municipalities. Thus the Swedish municipal housing market came into being.
The demand for housing was still great in the 1960s and there was an acute need for additional building, especially in metropolitan areas. In the early 1960s a bill was passed to initiate the Million Homes Programme, the aim of which was to build 100 000 dwellings a year between 1965 and 1975. The public housing sector built a large number of housing units during this period. But a large part of the constructed dwellings were detached houses, not multi-storey buildings.
In 1975 the "Wallpaper Reform" was implemented which meant that the tenants of public housing were allowed to carry out minor refurbishments in their apartments if done in a professional way. It also strengthened tenants’ influence in other ways.
Present-day
Local municipalities have the primary responsibility for planning and supplying good housing for the local population and those who wish to move to the area, while the Government is responsible for providing the necessary legal and financial instruments.
The aim of Swedish housing policy in the post-war period has been to provide good-quality housing for the population as a whole rather than to target specific groups. A broad approach to the complexities of the housing market has been taken and rather than targeting disadvantaged people the aim has been to create good housing for everybody. The principle behind this strategy is that by improving the overall housing situation, the conditions for vulnerable groups will also improve.
During the last decade of the 20th century there was a change in Swedish housing policy due to the abolition of the special economic regulations that had previously existed for the public housing sector (subsidised loans and beneficial taxation). They now compete with the private housing sector. The tax reform that came into effect in 1990–91 led to higher housing costs throughout the housing sector and all actors faced a completely new situation.
