Housing Conditions and Their Structural Determinants

Housing conditions vary widely across the EU and the fact that new member-states are lagging behind in this regard has even come onto the European policy agenda. This article examines housing conditions as an outcome of complex social developments and highlights specific reasons why housing conditions vary so much within the EU. Thus the specific impact is observed of factors which have been identified in the literature as characterising distinctive housing models: the eastern European housing model, the southern European housing model and the distinction between cost-renting and homeowning countries. Further, the impact of these factors, along with general socioeconomic development, is empirically assessed by a linear regression model based on the EQLS 2003 dataset. The results clearly support the thesis of economic development playing a decisive role, with it being the biggest single factor explaining variations in housing conditions across the EU, followed by the significant influence of policy choice and the incidence of family support.