Haffner, M., Horvat, M., & van Bortel, G. (2023). The Comeback of the Dutch Social Landlords? History and Future Perspectives. In European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) Conference 2023, Lodz, Poland.

Throughout history, the role and target group of Dutch housing associations have changed with regard to the role of the market and the state in the provision of social housing. Different periods have seen different housing challenges and government interventions that have given Dutch housing associations different powers in terms of autonomy, funding and regulation. This paper explores how this role changed for Dutch housing associations in light of regulatory and macroeconomic changes in the past 150 years. This historical overview contextualises current and future challenges in the Dutch housing market. We analyse the potential of the Dutch housing associations in meeting national housing policy targets and if the recent regulatory changes affected their role and target group. We argue that Dutch housing associations once again have a major role to provide housing for vulnerable groups and middle-income populations, while having a role to provide a significant amount of social housing.