Why Public Housing Was Abandoned and Why It Should Come Back
August 2, 2026 · Frisian News
Vienna still builds 60 percent of its new homes as public housing. Most wealthy countries abandoned public housing in the last half-century, even as housing costs soared and homelessness increased.
Vienna still builds a large share of its new homes as public housing. Its residents pay far less than comparable renters in cities like London or Berlin. Yet almost every other wealthy city abandoned public housing in the last half-century. The shift was deliberate, not inevitable.
In the 1980s and 1990s, governments sold public housing stock to private investors. Britain sold 1.5 million homes under Margaret Thatcher's "right to buy" scheme. The U.S. demolished large numbers of public housing units in the same period. France, Germany, and the Netherlands followed. Policymakers called it a triumph of homeownership. Renters had no choice but to pay what landlords demanded.
The banks and real estate funds that bought public housing had no interest in keeping rents low. They extracted value through speculation. Local governments lost steady income. Ordinary families lost stability. The financial sector won.
Governments claimed private markets worked better and cheaper than public builders. The evidence shows the opposite. Public housing in Vienna and Singapore costs governments less to maintain and keeps residents housed. Private landlords prioritize yield over supply. Homelessness has risen in cities that sold their public stock.
The housing crisis is not inevitable. It was engineered. Every politician who claims housing is too expensive while the public stock sits empty in investor portfolios is choosing sides. Vienna proves another way works.
Published August 2, 2026 · Frisian News