Fiscal vs. social welfare: Support for affordable housing in seven EU countries

This article aims to explore how housing allowances and mortgage interest tax relief have changed in recent years. The analysis focuses on seven EU countries (Greece, Italy, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK). The authors discuss the main features of two specific housing policy instruments - housing allowance and mortgage interest tax relief - and provide an overview of the relevant policy changes and the reasons for such changes. By using the European tax-benefit model EUROMOD, the article estimates the distributional impact of housing allowances and mortgage tax relief in 2016 as compared to 2007. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results, and the relevant policy implications.