Romania has highest housing overcrowding rate among EU countries

09 July 2019

A majority of Romanians live in owner-occupied dwellings, but face issues such as overcrowded dwellings, housing deprivation, and high housing costs, recent Eurostat statistics show.

Up to 96.8 % of the Romanian population lived in owner-occupied dwellings in 2017, the Eurostat data shows. Overall, more than half of the population in each EU member state lived in owner-occupied dwellings and none of the EU member states recorded a share of tenants that was higher than the share of people living in owner-occupied dwellings. By contrast, in Switzerland, the proportion of people who lived in rented dwellings outweighed those living in owner-occupied dwellings, as some 58.7 % of the population were tenants. In the Netherlands (60.7 %) and Sweden (52.2 %), more than half of the population lived in owner-occupied dwellings with a mortgage or loan.

When it comes to housing quality, Romania registered the highest overcrowding rate among the EU member states, of 47%.

The overcrowding rate describes the proportion of people living in an overcrowded dwelling, as defined by the number of rooms available to the household, the household’s size, as well as its members’ ages and their family situation.

Cyprus and Ireland (2.8 % each), Malta (3.0 %), the United Kingdom (3.4 %) and the Netherlands (4.1 %) recorded the lowest rates of overcrowding in the EU.

When it comes to the population at risk of poverty, namely people living in households where equivalised disposable income per person was below 60 % of the national median, Romania again recorded the highest overcrowding rate, of 58.3 %.

Across the EU 28, the overcrowding rate was 26.5 % in 2017, some 10.8 percentage points above the rate for the whole population. High overcrowding rates among the population at risk of poverty were also registered in Slovakia (55.6 %), Poland (49.8 %), Bulgaria (48.6 %) and Latvia (47.0 %). At the opposite end, the lowest overcrowding rates for those at risk of poverty were recorded in Ireland (7.5%), the United Kingdom (6.4 %), Cyprus (6.0 %) and Malta (5.9 %).

At the same time, in Romania close to one in every five persons (16.5 %) faced severe housing deprivation. This makes the country one of the four EU member states where more than 1 in 10 of the population faced severe housing deprivation, alongside Bulgaria (10.6%), Latvia (15.2 %) and Hungary (16.2 %).

The severe housing deprivation rate is defined as the percentage of the population living in a dwelling which is considered to be overcrowded, while having at the same time at least one of several housing deprivation aspects, such as the lack of a bath or a toilet, a leaking roof in the dwelling, or a dwelling considered to be too dark.

By contrast, 1.0 % or less of the population in the Netherlands (0.9 %), Ireland (0.8 %), Cyprus (0.8 %) and Finland (0.7 %) faced severe housing deprivation in 2017.

In respect to housing affordability, 60.4 % of the local population living as tenants with market price rents spent more than 40 % of their equivalised disposable income on housing. In nine member states, more than one third of the population living as tenants with market price rents spent more than 40 % of their equivalised disposable income on housing, with this proportion of the population exceeding two fifths in Spain (42.1 %), Lithuania (42.5 %) and Croatia (48.6 %), just over half in Bulgaria (51.0 %), and reaching 83.9 % in Greece.

(Photo: Pexels.com)

editor@romania-insider.com

Normal

Romania has highest housing overcrowding rate among EU countries

09 July 2019

A majority of Romanians live in owner-occupied dwellings, but face issues such as overcrowded dwellings, housing deprivation, and high housing costs, recent Eurostat statistics show.

Up to 96.8 % of the Romanian population lived in owner-occupied dwellings in 2017, the Eurostat data shows. Overall, more than half of the population in each EU member state lived in owner-occupied dwellings and none of the EU member states recorded a share of tenants that was higher than the share of people living in owner-occupied dwellings. By contrast, in Switzerland, the proportion of people who lived in rented dwellings outweighed those living in owner-occupied dwellings, as some 58.7 % of the population were tenants. In the Netherlands (60.7 %) and Sweden (52.2 %), more than half of the population lived in owner-occupied dwellings with a mortgage or loan.

When it comes to housing quality, Romania registered the highest overcrowding rate among the EU member states, of 47%.

The overcrowding rate describes the proportion of people living in an overcrowded dwelling, as defined by the number of rooms available to the household, the household’s size, as well as its members’ ages and their family situation.

Cyprus and Ireland (2.8 % each), Malta (3.0 %), the United Kingdom (3.4 %) and the Netherlands (4.1 %) recorded the lowest rates of overcrowding in the EU.

When it comes to the population at risk of poverty, namely people living in households where equivalised disposable income per person was below 60 % of the national median, Romania again recorded the highest overcrowding rate, of 58.3 %.

Across the EU 28, the overcrowding rate was 26.5 % in 2017, some 10.8 percentage points above the rate for the whole population. High overcrowding rates among the population at risk of poverty were also registered in Slovakia (55.6 %), Poland (49.8 %), Bulgaria (48.6 %) and Latvia (47.0 %). At the opposite end, the lowest overcrowding rates for those at risk of poverty were recorded in Ireland (7.5%), the United Kingdom (6.4 %), Cyprus (6.0 %) and Malta (5.9 %).

At the same time, in Romania close to one in every five persons (16.5 %) faced severe housing deprivation. This makes the country one of the four EU member states where more than 1 in 10 of the population faced severe housing deprivation, alongside Bulgaria (10.6%), Latvia (15.2 %) and Hungary (16.2 %).

The severe housing deprivation rate is defined as the percentage of the population living in a dwelling which is considered to be overcrowded, while having at the same time at least one of several housing deprivation aspects, such as the lack of a bath or a toilet, a leaking roof in the dwelling, or a dwelling considered to be too dark.

By contrast, 1.0 % or less of the population in the Netherlands (0.9 %), Ireland (0.8 %), Cyprus (0.8 %) and Finland (0.7 %) faced severe housing deprivation in 2017.

In respect to housing affordability, 60.4 % of the local population living as tenants with market price rents spent more than 40 % of their equivalised disposable income on housing. In nine member states, more than one third of the population living as tenants with market price rents spent more than 40 % of their equivalised disposable income on housing, with this proportion of the population exceeding two fifths in Spain (42.1 %), Lithuania (42.5 %) and Croatia (48.6 %), just over half in Bulgaria (51.0 %), and reaching 83.9 % in Greece.

(Photo: Pexels.com)

editor@romania-insider.com

Normal
 

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