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The Meaning of Home Ownership in the Transition from Socialism: The Example of Slovenia

Institute for Social Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia

David Clapham

Centre for Housing Management and Development, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Wales, P.O. Box 906, Cardiff, CF1 3YN, Wales, UK

The nature of home ownership is contested within housing studies, with disagreement over whether it is a 'natural desire' or an unimportant feature of the housing situation. This paper sheds some light on this debate by examining the meaning of home ownership in Slovenia both before and after democratic changes in the early 1990s. In the late 1970s and the 1980s there was an acute housing shortage and households opted for the tenure which provided them with a better chance of being housed and employers provided home loans rather than building new rented housing to make scarce funds stretch further. The attributes within each of the tenures at this time varied widely and were more important in influencing housing quality and the rights and obligations of tenants than tenure. The early 1990s have brought a strong ideological drive towards home ownership as a symbol of a market economy. In addition, the sale of rented housing derives income for industrial enterprises which can be invested in their mainstream activities. The move to overwhelming support for home ownership cannot be explained solely by reference to household preferences.

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