Setting Minimum Standard for Housing

1
Setting Minimum Standard for Housing

• Senior Adviser Siri Sandbu
• The Norwegian State Housing Bank

2
Minimum standard for Housing in Norway

• The Norwegian State Housing Bank
• The governments instrument to implement housing
  policy in Norway
• Financial and technical assistance (loan/grants
  housing allowances) to local governments,
  developers and NGO's /private organisations
• Coordinate state/public initiatives to combat
  poverty/homelessness
• No legislation mainly recommen- dations
  guidelines statutory right to housing been
  considered but declined

3
Norwegian Model for Development and Management of
Housing

• National Government
• Determines goals/guidelines
• Makes laws framework conditions
• Stimulate research/dissemination of information
• Local Government
• Makes plans for housing and infrastructure
• Check that development takes place according to
  laws and regulation
• Providing houses for disadvantages
• Private /cooperative housing sector
• Plan, design and develop the houses
• Manage and maintain
• Takes the risk as developer

4
Minimum standard for Housing in Norway

• National Policy (report no 23/2003/2004)
  Adequate and secure Housing for all
• Stimulating to a well functioning housing market
  
• (ca 80 home ownership or cooperative ownership
  and 20rental homes)
• Providing housing for groups that are
  disadvantaged
• Increasing the number of environment-friendly and
  universally designed housing units and
  residential areas

5
National Housing Policy for various target groups
in Norway

• National Plan for Lifetime Care Dwellings and
  Nursing Homes 1997-2003 total 40 000 units
• The National Program for Mental Health (3400
  housing units)
• Accessibility Universal Design
• National Strategy Towards your own home
  2005-2007
• (Following National Project against Homelessness
  2001-2004)

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General Goals and performance targets
7
Towards your own home 2005-2007

• Guidelines and recommendations to fight
  homelessness such as
• Reduction of no of evictions
• Avoid temporary housing more than 3 months
• Secure minimum quality on temporary housing
  quality contracts with private landlords

8
Disadvantaged group on the Housing Market

• Right to temporary accommodation according to the
  law-4.3
• Responsibility Municipalities
• Based on need assessment
• Access to rental house (municipality houses or
  private rental houses )
• Access to loan/grant to purchase own house and to
  adjust/make house more accessible (less than 10
  of all housing units considers accessible)
• Housing allowances to cover part of monthly
  charges-(currently most important state subsidy)

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Minimum standard for housing in Norway

• Access/available
• right to temporary housing/place to sleep
• otherwise no right to permanent housing
• increased focus on homelessness people with
  special needs
• no of homeless decreased the last years
• 1997 6200
• 2003 5200
• 2006 ?
• Market rent/ no regulation
• Anti-discrimination laws recently
• introduced in Norway

10
Minimum Standard for Housing in Norway

• Suitable reflecting cultural as well as health
  support needs
• Some health or social support system to
  individuals and groups
• Special efforts on housing projects for old
  people
• Challenge assisted living/practical or social
  support not statutory

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Minimum Standard for Housing in Norway

• Adequate physical standard
• Used to have min m2 and other
  area-requirements
• (Ref min and max m2 for state funding and
  grant)
• Now only recommendation
• mainly on functions
• general recommendation on good quality and safe
  tenure for disadvantaged groups but no min
  standards or requirements
• Some quality requirements for hostels

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Minimum Standard for Housing

• Affordable
• Used to be a goal in housing policy
• Now individual support to those who cannot afford
  the living costs
• Housing allowances
• Social support
• Loan and grant from Housing Bank
• Some local/municipal support

13
Minimum standard for Housing

• Sustainable with secure
• tenure and neighbourhood
• tenant-landlord regulations
• market rent
• tenants/residents rights
• concentration of public housing in certain
  suburbs
• (sell out but what no alternative to tenants)
• - Owner-occupied or Rental Housing

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Minimum Standard for Housing in Norway

• Homeless
• Persons with no owned or rented house and who are
  depended to temporary solutions or who do not
  know where to sleep the following night
• Persons who stay at hostels or at
  institutions/prisons and do not know where to
  live at the of release (when 2 months or less)
• Persons staying with families or acquaintances

15
Min standard for Housing - Summery

• Right to transitional/temporary accommodation
• Otherwise not laws securing the right to housing
• Increased focus on homeless and other
  disadvantaged
• Challenge Accessibility and affordability and
  budget constraints in local governments
• National plans to reduce the no of homeless and
  implement support system

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Minimum Standards for Housing in Norway