Creating Affordable Housing through self-management: Experiences from a Danish concept

The paper presents a case on self-management in the Danish social housing sector as a way of providing affordable housing. It is based on an evaluation of a Danish concept for affordable housing, Social Housing Plus (“AlmenBolig+”). The concept was introduced in 2007, and so far app 1.400 housing units have been established. The concept includes a number of approaches to reduce the rent, some are “traditional” physical-technical approaches for affordable housing, e.g. reducing production costs and limiting standards. However, a central element in the concept has been the introduction of “self-management” amongst the residents, which is a new and controversial approach in the Danish social housing sector, where the traditional approach is a high service level regarding maintenance, operation and administration, but these services also have a high impact on the rent. This paper will outline the ideas behind the Social Housing Plus-concept, the preconditions for the self-management approach, and the experiences so far from the various housing estates built on the concept. This will include a discussion of the social impacts of the self-management among the residents, e.g. in relation to a participation and sense of ownership, but also various challenges in the concept. Broadly speaking, the paper aim to examine and assess the potential for self-management as a way to establish affordable housing, as well as the limits of the concept. Methodologically, the evaluation is based on qualitative interviews and surveys amongst residents and housing associations, as well as quantitative assessments of the outcome regarding rent level and household composition in the housing estates.