Social Housing Opportunities and Challenges – Perspectives from Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Serbia

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In recent decades, European housing systems have faced significant challenges,
including rising socioeconomic inequalities, demographic shifts, welfare cuts, the
financialization of housing markets, and ongoing affordability crises. The Delivering
Safe and Social Housing (DASH) project, carried out by a consortium of institutions
from Denmark, Germany, Portugal, and Serbia, explores these issues by comparing
national social and affordable housing regimes and approaches and practices in
medium-sized cities (Aalborg, Tübingen, Braga, and Čačak). This publication aims to
highlight both the structural differences and similarities in providing social and
affordable housing opportunities. The findings reveal the notable diversity of European
housing systems. Denmark’s universalist, association-based model contrasts with
Serbia’s residual, ad hoc approach; Germany blends limited social housing with
broader rent controls, while Portugal has traditionally focused on homeownership,
but it now recognises the need for a regulated, publicly owned rental sector serving
low- and middle-income families. These paths, influenced by factors such as postsocialist
privatisation, economic crises, or welfare reforms, show how social housing
remains highly dependent on context. Nonetheless, common issues remain: matching
housing supply with changing demographics and mobility; financing provision under
fiscal constraints and increasing construction costs; and tackling urban pressures
from gentrification, tourism, and migration. Policy debates include Denmark’s
contested “parallel societies” laws, Portugal’s EU-funded reforms, Germany’s efforts
to increase supply amid inflation risks, and Serbia’s limited political focus on housing.
At the local level, innovative municipal strategies present promising options. At a time
when European focus on affordability is renewed, this publication demonstrates how
diverse histories, institutional frameworks, and local initiatives come together around
the urgent need to secure social housing as a key element of fair and sustainable urban
growth.