This article investigates the cross-border strategies of Europe’s two largest corporate landlords, Vonovia and Heimstaden. Both firms have rapidly expanded by acquiring undervalued rental housing in highly regulated markets such as Germany and Sweden. The article develops a four-part comparative framework—ownership structures, business models, regulatory environments, and tenant mobilization—to examine how institutional landlords operate transnationally while adapting to local contexts. It shows that, alongside rent extraction and regulatory circumvention, these firms deploy social-responsibility rhetoric and forge public–private partnerships to secure legitimacy and pre-empt criticism. The findings demonstrate that transnational expansion is driven not only by market logics but also by firms’ capacity to navigate and reshape diverse governance regimes, even in cities with strong tenant protections and tenant movements. The article concludes by highlighting the policy implications of these legitimizing strategies and the urgent need for binding regulatory reforms to safeguard housing as a social right.

The Swedish system of public housing is arguably a bearing pillar under the national housing regime, and an essential part of the unitary rental market, as its apartments – which are provided by municipal housing companies (MHCs) – are available for all, not only low-income individuals. However, access requirements among MHCs restrict access in diverse ways. This paper presents a longitudinal (2013–2022) study of access requirements for prospective tenants in Swedish public housing. It investigates variations and changes in requirements and relates those to discourses of the ‘ideal tenant’ in a unitary rental market. The paper finds that requirements on minimum income have become more generous over time, while at the same time, requirements on ‘good behaviour’ have increased. Such a change in requirements is described in terms of a shift in discourse on the ideal tenant – from the financially stable to the morally responsible tenant. The overall picture emerging is a model of public housing in a contradictory state between national claims of universalism and practices of exclusion. It is concluded that gradual marketisation and political responsibilization have eroded the foundations of the unitary market in Sweden, why the theoretical demarcation between unitary and dualist rental markets become increasingly obsolete.

This is a definition of affordable housing and social policy in the Thematic Encyclopedia of Regional Science. This thematic Encyclopedia explores the multifaceted world of regional science, presenting a systematic and coherent overview of its central topics. It highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the field, examining the wide range of concepts, theories, methods and models that shape spatial-oriented approaches to the social sciences. Contributions from expert scholars delve into key aspects of regional science, from urban poverty and natural resource management to smart cities and AI. Highly accessible entries cover the definition, history, theoretical background, and applications of each topic, as well as avenues for future research.

The Swedish rental housing market has been in transition. The once dominating municipal public housing sector has been steadily decreasing. International firms have increasingly taken over rental housing in so-called socially deprived areas. This article analyzes the financialization of the former public housing stock. It traces activities in two housing estates and outlines the history and operations of venture capital-based real estate companies focusing on deprived areas in Sweden. These companies have upgraded multifamily homes and thus increased rents, which resulted in large profits and a decrease in the affordable housing stock. In this new reality, venture capital actors have taken advantage of contextual conditions and applied powerful calculative devices. Drawing on studies of financialization as a socio-technical process, the article contributes to knowledge by de-mystifying financialization through a detailed study of specific practices undertaken by international investors who acquire former public housing units in Sweden.

In October 2024, the European Union announced its first commissioner with direct responsibility for housing, as Dan Jørgensen was appointed the EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing. The reactions were mixed. While some voices were positive about the increased focus on affordable housing and the possibility for the EU to support member states in tackling the housing crisis, concerns were raised about the EU interfering in an issue which by nature is national and local.

This paper investigates the possible consequences of renewed EU interference in the housing markets in Sweden and the Netherlands – two countries which have previously changed their legislation for social and public housing due to potential conflict with the EU’s state-aid rules. The paper provides an overview of the responses from political parties and key stakeholders in Sweden and the Netherlands and discusses the potential outcome of a change in state aid rules for the public/social housing systems. The authors call for a focus on the urgent shortage of affordable housing and its negative impact on individuals and society, and argue that politicians should use the opportunity to prioritize long-term systemic impact.

Personer i social utsatthet försvinner inte för att hyresrätter rivs, skriver Martin Grander, docent och biträdande lektor vid Institutionen för urbana studier vid Malmö universitet.