The neoliberalization of housing policy and social housing provision in the Nordics: convergence or continued variegation?

In the last 30–40 years, the role(s) of social housing providers have changed in many European countries from being welfare-oriented and oftentimes non-profit organizations, to being hybrid organizations that combine the traditional philanthropic agenda with a more strategic organizational setup and mindset. These changes are often seen as responses to the retrenchment of housing policies and ideological attacks on the social housing sector, viewed as a relic of the welfare state. This article firstly places the discussion of the changing roles of social housing providers within the larger discussion of the neoliberalization of social housing regimes. Second, it illustrates the changing roles of social housing providers resulting from neoliberalization in the biggest Nordic countries. We argue that the interaction between path-dependent housing regimes on the one hand, and flexible ‘actually existing’ neoliberalisms on the other, has led to continued variegation in the role of social housing providers both within and between these countries, though with underlying ‘neoliberal’ traits.