1 Inclusive Housing Measures and Integrated Services Eszter Somogyi Thematic Expert Karvina Learning Cluster April, 2012

Aim of the workshop Discuss and exchange ideas on inclusive housing measures and integrated services Further develop the housing related measures in LAPs Discuss some of the main housing related problems such as illegal/insecure housing situations and affordability Establish a more integrated approach to housing measures Discuss possible funding scenarios 2

Main dimensions of housing problems Location in the city, Segregation (level of deprivation/social mix, size) Legal issues: –Illegal settlements –Lack of legal title to housing (owners, tenants) –Lack of registered address entitlement to social benefits Quality of housing: –Substandard units –public utilities: lack of infrastructure or terminated utility services, illegal connections –Overcrowdedness –Unhealthy circumstances Affordability problem : rent, housing maintenance costs, cost of legalisation Metropolitan Research Institute3

Roma neighbourhoods of the cities Camps (Udine, Bologna, Bobigny) : –mostly illegal, but some legal camps for travellers –No public utilities, infrastructure, bad hygenic conditions –Immigrants with no legal documentation Social housing (Almeria, Budapest, Glasgow, Kosice, Torrent): –Majority or significant part of the stock –Dilapidated conditions, small, overcrowded –Disconnected utlitiy services Metropolitan Research Institute 4

Roma neighbourhoods of the cities Private rental housing (Karvina, Glasgow /Budapest, Bologna, Udine) –Substandard units/ dilapidated, overcrowded Owner occupied (Nagykálló, Almeria Budapest) –Single family houses, multi-units buildings –Some better quality Level of segregataion – varies –Inner city areas – more mixed –Outer parts –Outside, more isolated (camps, LuníkIX) Metropolitan Research Institute5

Illegal housing situations Illegal and insecure housing situation –Mostly illegal camps, public land, –Illegal occupation of social rentals, squatter –Terminated rent contracts –Guest families –Disconnected public utilities, illegal connections to utilities –Undocumented purchases of apartments Strong relation to affordability problems Metropolitan Research Institute6

Affordability problems Low and often irregular income Unemployment, poorly educated people small social housing sector, but even the low rent is unaffordable Illegal immigrants are not entitled to social housing Terminated rental contract, arrears – not entitled for housing allowance Private rentals: high rent, not legally rented out – consequences on social benefit, illegal evictions Metropolitan Research Institute7

Good examples 1. Dispersal programe – Madrid –Slum clearance, rehousing people to integrated part of the city into social housing –Purchasing apartments, quota system – evenly distribute families in districts –Formal agreement between the institute managing the program and the relevant municipal departments – social suuport to families before rehousing –Formal agreement with families, social clause of rental contract –Conflict mediation with the new neighbours Metropolitan Research Institute8

Good examples 2. Area based regeneration: Budapest, Magdolna - aim: increase quality of life and reinforcing social cohesion - Housing measures target the neediest living in tenement buildings (4) (condominiums) - Active involvement of tenants: planning implementation and maintenance periods - Formal agreements with tenants, representatives of each building. Conflict resolution - Tenant assosication - Social, education, employment, crime prevention programme Metropolitan Research Institute 9

Good examples 3. Integrated services - Ostrava - NGO: Living Together - Housing measures: 30 new social housing units parly for Roma, partly for non-Roma - Tenants participation in preparation and construction, managing board - Community centres: social service, housing related assistence, Nest service. Job service Transitional housing, crime prevention service, community development and anti-discrimination programme - Partnership building with municipalites and authorities 10

Planned housing measures in the LAPs Camps: –Upgrading camps –Legalising migrants and enabling them to leave the camps Moving people to social and private rentals (already existing practices) – increase the supply (Bo,U) (T) Providing rent allowance for social and private tenants transitory housing (U, By,) Use unoccupied social housing (T) Refurbishment of existing housing Construction of new housing - Owner occupied - assisted self constructions (Bo, N) - New technologies to decrease housing maintenance costs (N) - Social housing – integrated in the city (T) - national programme(Ko) Not planning direct housing measures at this stage - By:first legalising the migrants. G: affecting national housing policy 11

Planned measures for involving residents - High priority: engagement and collaboration with Roma via local organisations and Roma groups (G) (T) - Options discussed with Roma to match needs and measures (Bo) - Awareness raising, include private rentals into social housing provision (U) - In planning: information provision only (N) - Important to involve them in all stages but no concrete measures (Ko) - Involve Roma families in maintenance of housing and other activiities - Not specified yet 12

Planned integrated measures - Already in place but needs strenghteninig in some points Advocacy, advise and crisis support service (G) - Already formal agreement between stakeholders (U) - Cooperation between services and public organisations and NGOs - IS provided by NGOs connecting people to enabling them to use existing services (By) - Main challenge: strenghtening coordination and institutional capacieites, incresing capacities of existing services involving more the NGOs (Ko) November 19, 2010 Metropolitan Research Institute13

Funding Funding: - Not specified yet (N, Bo) - State/regional/municipal/EU (U) - Mainly municipal ? (Bo) - Jessica, ESF (Ko) ERDF for marginalised groups: not directly indicated in the LAPs –Construction, purchase of social housing –Renovation of existing social housing, condominiums 14

Problems indicated by the cities Funding : - no sufficient funds are available for housing - Economic crisis – decreasing resources to services and housing measures - Additional man-power needs additional resources - Difficult to match needs and solutions - Involvement of house owners is difficult, private landlords - Limited resources of the target group, Roma families Attitude of general public, discrimination in the housing market against Roma Roma families do not meet the eligibility criteria of social housing Migrants have no access to social housing Lack of cooperation between city and district municipalites 15

Principles for housing measures Approach: the emphasis is not to purely upgrade the physical condition of housing but to improve the housing conditions of excluded people = Roma Tackling segregation is important to stop the process of ghettoisation and avoid the generation of new ghettoes/ deprived areas Affordabilty is a crucial issue to deliver sustainable measures Involvement of Roma/vulnerable groups is a main condition of sustainability 16