Social Housing Provision in Copenhagen

The paper provides an overview of trends and processes of change affecting new social housing provision in Denmark with a focus on Copenhagen. The local responses are reviewed within the context of changes to the unitary national housing system that functions with a robust range of private and non-profit housing providers, and a wide range of fiscal and regulatory instruments enhancing the competitive performance of the social housing sector. The research analyses recent housing policy measures and their impact on new social housing provision in Copenhagen. The emphasis is on the mix of housing policy instruments implemented in three major policy domains-fiscal, financial and regulatory-to promote the production of new social housing.

The system of new social housing provision is examined as a dynamic process of interaction between public and private institutions defining housing policy outcomes. The outcomes are evaluated through a series of indicators related to housing quality; stability of investment and production; differentiation of rents; affordability and choice. The research also identifies development strategies for new social housing provision developed by housing associations in the context of mixed tenure, urban regeneration projects.

Keywords: housing policy, social housing, social housing developers, new housing provision