I am truly lucky for this year abroad researching and looking at social housing and homeless programs in Germany and the EU. The world is increasingly more global and sharing of best practices can not be limited to country borders. As I researched homeless programs in Germany, I came across the name of a Dr.… Read More Housing First in Europe- 5 Short Summaries of Test Sites
What to do when a tenant owes money to the housing authority? The question is typical and we face it on a regular basis. Many times the money spent to collect is more than the actual debt. In other situations, the tenant is in a bad situation and we want to work around it. If it is… Read More Work for Repayment of rent arrears? An example from Hungary.
Social Housing providers serve many different categories of adults and families. Two specific groups that we see in social housing are elderly and single mothers. These are two completely different groups with completely different problems. In the USA social housing system, many seniors end up in a combo building that houses both seniors and disabled. This… Read More Innovative Program in the Netherlands- Combining Elderly and Young Women
When I graduated college in 2009 my head was full of academic ideas and principles regarding social housing. Five years later, I am in a fellowship with a completely different view on how urban planning and social housing work. Theories are great but the reality of working in a government agency and implementing new programs … Read More What do you mean there is no Definition for Social Housing in Europe?
A major problem in the US and throughout the world is affordable housing for elderly and disabled households. There are plenty of excellent housing developments in the USA that are attempting to bridge the gap. Funding enough affordable housing for the elderly and disabled is a major struggle. I do not know the answer to this question. There are good people… Read More Social Housing and Loneliness, is Coffee the Answer?
Wohnberechtigungsschein or B-Schein for short is a tool/license used by Germany to both fund the development of social housing units and to provide a ongoing subsidy. The details are confusing so I will attempt to clarify. Below is an explanation of the B Schein Program. I will use Hannover as the example city and GBH, the… Read More B-Schein- A tool to provide affordable housing in Germany.
To understand the affordable housing system in Hannover, one must first understand the funding program. One must be very careful when using the word “Social Housing” in Germany. Many in Germany will take that to mean only certain housing units in certain programs. If the definition is limited, you will not get gain a… Read More German Affordable Housing 101
Housing Futures 