co-operative housing in sweden

Irish Jesuit Province

Co-operative Housing in SwedenAuthor(s): J. W. AmesSource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 77, No. 913 (Jul., 1949), pp. 310-320Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20516017 .

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CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING IN SWEDEN

By Dr. J. W. AMES

Dr. Ames, who wrote last month on co-operative farming in Sweden, here describes how the co-operative idea has been used to help solve

the problem of housing. The steps taken to provide homes for workers

with families may interest us who live in this Catholic country and

who read so often in advertisements of vacant flats the words "

Adults

Only".

SWEDISH co-operative housing first started during the 1880s as

the outcome of an acute housing shortage which followed in the

wake of the growing urbanization of that time. The earliest

attempts took the form of so-called "

housing groups "

which by the

time the First World War broke out were to be found in most of the

large towns in Sweden. Each "

housing group "

was constituted as a

separate entity completely independent and isolated from all similar

groups. This fact together with the weak financial position of the "

housing groups "

caused them to be faced with great difficulties

which meant that the members, who had pooled their resources in

order to establish the groups, were in constant danger of losing their

meagre savings. The aim of these

" housing groups

" was two-fold, to secure lower

rents and a greater degree of security of tenure for their members.

Their method was to provide accommodation by purchasing existing

buildings and renting them to their members as apartments. In this

connection it is important to observe that the housing society remained

in the r?le of landlord whilst the members were generally denied the

right of ownership, and that this coupled with a general lack of control

and the absence of a stable organization caused the social welfare

aspect of the Movement to disappear only too often leaving the

housing society just another business enterprise. In comparison with

the later development of the Co-operative Housing Movement the

progress of this form of activity up to the beginning of the First World

War was very limited. The first real step forward in the development of Swedish co-operative housing came in 1916 with the establishment

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HOUSING IN SWEDEN

of the Stockholm Co-operative Housing Society and it is true to say that the modern Co-operative Housing Movement in Sweden started

with the formation of this society. The decline in the building activity which followed the outbreak

of the 1914-18 War led to a serious shortage of living accommodation

and a consequent steep rise in rents. In an effort to check this

deterioration of the housing position a substantial increase in the con

struction of co-operative houses took place. From its inception the

Stockholm Society built its own houses. These were constructed

around open spaces laid out as gardens and lawns; features which had

hitherto been considered luxuries in which only the rich could afford

to indulge. Practically all the apartments built by the Stockholm

Society followed the pattern of one- or two-room flats with kitchen,

plain in design, but nevertheless roomy and airy in construction.

Contrary to the general practice of the housing societies, which is to

sell their flats to the members, the Stockholm Society rents its apart ments to its members. All the Society's operations are subject to the

approval of the Stockholm City Council, which exercises its control

through its Real Estate Commission, a member of which is a per manent member of the Board of Directors of the Stockholm Society.

Thanks to good management, centralized administration and a sen

sible building programme the Stockholm Co-operative Housing Society has steadily developed into one of the principal real estate owners in

Stockholm. It now has possession of property consisting of some

2,500 apartments which are valued at about 35 million kronor*.

To-day this society, which started with 216 members in 1916, has a

membership of 3,442. Its constantly expanding membership has made

possible the continued construction of new buildings. The failure of the

" housing groups

" to expand their activities

because of the lack of organization and the absence of continuity, and

the fact that the Stockholm Co-operative Housing Society was con

fined to the Capital made it clear that if the Co-operative Housing Movement was to fulfil its social purpose some new approach would

have to be adopted. This new approach took the form of the so

called "

Tenants' Union ".

During the First World War, in protest against increasing rents, a number of people renting their apartments in Stockholm joined

*The Swedish krona is worth about 1/4.

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IRISH MONTHLY

together to form a "

Tenants' Union "; these unions were later estab

lished in several other towns. Their aim was to protect the interests

of the tenant and prevent landlords from exploiting the housing

shortage by exacting extortionate rents. The idea of the Unions worked

well but it was soon discovered that the surest way for the tenants

to gain a lasting improvement in their conditions was for them to

enter the building field on their own behalf, constructing and adminis

trating their own houses. In this way it was thought that the inter

mediate profits from construction, sale and renting of houses could be

limited.

Tenants' Savings and Building Society

The result was that the Tenants' Union decided to sponsor a new

housing organization to be called Tenants' Savings and Building Society, usually referred to as H.S.B. The difference between this

society and the Tenants' Union is that whereas the latter is purely an

organization for protecting the interests of all tenants who are mem

bers of its organization, the H.S.B. Society acts in the capacity of a

provider of accommodation by constructing buildings and making available building materials, etc. Although the Stockholm H.S.B. was

established only in 1923, to date around 14,000 people in Stockholm have sought to solve their housing problems through the medium

of this organization. Some 60 per cent, of its members are industrial and other workers, whilst the remaining 40 per cent, is made up of various categories of black-coated workers. This means that prac

tically all occupational groups are represented within the Society's

membership.

Following Stockholm's example H.S.B. societies were started in

several other towns and in 1924 these societies joined together to form

the National Association of Savings and Building Societies (the national organization of H.S.B. Societies).

During the Second World War other housing societies were started

but the H.S.B. Movement is still by far the largest co-operative housing

organization in Sweden. It carries on its work in 140 towns which in

effect means practically all the towns in the country. During the last

few years the H.S.B. Movement had been responsible for approxi

mately 12 to 13 per cent, of the total house building activity through out Sweden and it is confidently anticipated that this percentage will

be increased in the future.

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HOUSING IN? SWEDEN

The name (Tenants' Savings and Building Society) indicates the two

main principles of H.S.B., for saving and building have been of the

utmost importance in the work carried out by the Co-operative Housing Movement. Building requires a great deal of money which

must be obtained at a reasonable rate of interest. Such capital, how

ever, is not easily accessible to an organization such as H.S.B. which

is not constituted as a joint stock company nor supported by powerful financial interests and to which the banks and the usual credit insti

tutions are not always willing or able to advance the substantial sums

that are needed for work to be undertaken. In face of this difficulty and in accordance with the Co-operative principle of independence,

H.S.B. Societies from their inception began collecting the savings of

their members with a view to using them to supplement the building credits obtained for the houses they proposed to build. To facilitate this branch of its activity the National Association of H.S.B. Societies in 1933 incorporated into its organization a savings bank using the local societies as branch offices. At the end of 1948 deposits in the

bank amounted to over 25 million Swedish kronor. H.S.B. capital resources by no means cover all the needs of societies for building credit, but although advances from banks and credit institutions still

form the main source of credit, the amount of money H.S.B. is able to advance on its own account means that at least a part of the capital needed to cover the cost of a building programme will be obtained at a low rate of interest.

Immediately the construction of a building is completed and can

be offered as a security to obtain ordinary bank loans or mortgages, the short term construction credits, which because of the greater risk

involved carry a higher rate of interest, can be repaid. Thereafter that

proportion of these credits belonging to H.S.B. can be used again to

help finance a new building programme. By adhering to this method

of lending money the H.S.B. Movement found it possible to maintain

a close control over its loans and so avoid any substantial losses. In

consequence of this sound policy the rate of interest paid to its mem

bers has generally been above that distributed by the ordinary banks.

The organization of the H.S.B. Movement is founded on what may be described as the "parent" society. There exist 130 of these "

parent "

societies throughout Sweden, with a membership consisting of people, living in a given area, who desire to solve their housing

problems through the medium of co-operative housing. These

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IRISH MONTHLY

"parent" societies take the initiative in building new houses. They collect members' savings, help to obtain building sites and generally

manage all the details connected with building programmes. When the houses are completed the societies remain to represent the con

tinuity of the Movement in their various districts. The task of the "

parent "

society is to deal with book-keeping, arrange and supervise the sale of flats and assist in the purchase of fuel and materials used in the maintenance of the property.

The tenants in H.S.B. apartments are all buying their flats and commence by making a deposit usually amounting to between 5 and 10 per cent, of the building costs. In this way they obtain a flat on a

life tenure at a relatively low figure. In each block of flats the tenants

are members of what is called a "

daughter "

society and with every new block of flats there arises a new

" daughter

" society. Each of

these societies controls and administers its own particular building and is constituted as a separate legal and economic unit having its own management committee elected by its members. If a society succeeds in keeping expenses down all the members of that particular

"daughter" society will benefit in the shape of reduced yearly

charges. These charges are also reduced as the mortgage is repaid

through amortizations. If a tenant wishes to dispose of his flat he can

do so with the approval of the management committee of the "

daughter "

society, which must scrutinise the conditions of all tran

sactions and ensure that no jobbery takes place. The maximum price a tenant is usually permitted to charge for his flat is the amount of his

initial payment plus the value of the amortizations made by him during the period of his occupancy.

Reference has been made earlier to the National H.S.B. Association.

The purpose of this Association is to carry on propaganda up and

down the country and to assist the formation of new local societies

with legal advice and details regarding organization. The Association

has its own architects' office in addition to several technical depart ments which conduct a vast research into the field of building con

struction. It helps in securing loans and supervises the technical and

economic activities of local societies whilst it also owns and conducts

special buying agencies and a number of factories producing building materials.

H.S.B. does not engage in the actual conduct of building operations. These are carried out by contractors who are given contracts on the

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HOUSING IN SWEDEN

basis of the most favourable tender submitted for a specific building

programme. This helps to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum

and that the standard of craftsmanship is maintained at a high level.

Other activities of the H.S.B. Movement include the construction of

special blocks of flats for large families with small incomes, and the

production of one-family houses constructed out of prefabricated sec

tions produced in the Movement's own factories.

Homes For Large Families

In the case of the special flats the problem is the one that is en

countered everywhere, that is, the provision of accommodation for

large families with low incomes. This problem, always a serious one,

is especially so in a country like Sweden which has a small popula tion and a low birth rate and therefore must encourage an increase

in the size of families. Realising the great amount of harm that can

befall the children of large families who grow up in old and inadequate

living accommodation, the Swedish central and municipal authorities

have taken steps to improve the housing position of such families. Since 1935 the Swedish Parliament has appropriated increasing amounts of money for the construction of modern well equipped and

roomy apartments to accommodate families who would otherwise be

compelled to live in slums. H.S.B., in close collaboration with the

municipal authorities who are directly responsible for carrying out the

State housing schemes, has been one of the chief instruments used for

the building and administration of these apartments. The families

taking up tenancy in these flats were not required to put down a

deposit and they paid only very moderate rents fixed by the State. Often even these rents proved to be too high for the families in the lowest income groups and Parliament was compelled to grant further sums of money in order further to reduce them. When these reduc tions were made they were calculated on the basis of the number of children and the total income of the family. At first these families were housed in special dwellings with the administration entrusted to

special bodies set up by H.S.B. in collaboration with the municipal authorities in the districts concerned. This arrangement remained until 1944 when, in order to avoid concentrating into special areas the

families in the lower income groups, the Government consented to

grant corresponding economic facilities to large families with low

incomes who were living as tenants in the ordinary private type of

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IRISH MONTHLY

flat. The method used was for the municipal authority to buy or rent

blocks of flats and then to let them out to the special families on terms similar to those adopted in the case of special flats. Both this

latter arrangement and the scheme for the construction of special flats

have now given way to a comprehensive State housing plan called

The Swedish Building Policy. Under this new arrangement those

families considered to be in the "

special "

category now obtain living accommodation in the ordinary way and then they receive a grant from the municipality on the basis of the size of the family and the

amount of the family income. For families (with two children under

16 years of age) with a yearly income of not more than 4,000 Swedish

kronor the amount of the grant is 260 Swedish kronor per annum.

The State also appropriates large sums of money for the improve ment of the housing conditions of the old age pensioners. This type of housing activity is conducted on much the same lines as that for

the housing of "

special "

families which means that here also it has

been possible for H.S.B. to make a useful contribution. Taking to

gether all forms of State housing activity dealing with families in

special categories, H.S.B. had up to 1948 helped in the building of

over 5,000 apartments.

Regarding the provision of small houses H.S.B. has, since 1937,

been building one-family houses made chiefly from prefabricated sec

tions produced in the H.S.B. Movement's own factories. With the

growth of towns into unattractive masses of buildings there arose a

demand for living accommodation situated in more congenial sur

roundings, causing a boom in the cottage movement. A one-family house in the suburbs was not a new thing, but although these existed

previous to 1937 they were generally occupied by families of the

higher income groups. H.S.B., with capital partly supplied by the Co

operative Insurance Society, Folksam, fully supported the Stockholm

City Council's scheme for small house construction and up to 1948 the

Movement had delivered upwards of 3,000 houses. The use of ready

made sections enables the potential owner to reduce the cost of his

house by assisting in its construction. Large families with low incomes

also have the opportunity to live in one-family houses, for the same

facilities exist in this case as those described when subsidies to "special families

" were discussed.

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HOUSING IN SWEDEN

Town Planning

H.S.B. has always supported the idea of town-planning and its town

planning department has done much to make the H.S.B. development areas an improvement upon the conglomeration of buildings usually found in towns.

The latest and most outstanding example of H.S.B.'s efforts in the

town planning is to be found on the little island of Reimersholme

situated in Stockholm. In 1942 this island was little more than a refuse

dump, but to-day it appears as a small town enveloped m trees and

completely surrounded by the waters of Lake M?laren. The few ram

shackle buildings that were in existence, in the main workmen's

barracks constructed some time during the middle of the last century, have been replaced by carefully designed modern houses better

adapted to the needs of a modern community. The town planning of Reimersholme was prepared by H.S.B.'s town

planning department which was granted a relatively free hand in its work by the local authorities. The plan has made it possible to

preserve the natural beauty of the island by making the houses fit into their surroundings while at the same time providing homes for some 3,000 people free from the least danger of overcrowding.

The Industrial Activity of H.S.B.

In order to ensure the deliveries of essential building materials it

has been necessary for the H.S.B. Movement to engage in production. The Movement now owns several industrial enterprises organized as

separate joint stock companies. These include a number of carpentry and joinery works; two factories for the production of prefabricated houses and a marble quarry. Together with other co-operative organi zations the H.S.B. Movement also runs several brickyards and a pipe

factory; this industrial collaboration between H.S.B. and other co

operative organizations is particularly intimate between H.S.B. and

the Swedish Co-operative Union and Wholesale Society (Kooperativa

f?rbundet).

The result of the H.S.B. Movement's own productive efforts together with the activities carried on by a central purchasing agency have been

invaluable in making it possible to construct buildings made of high

quality materials while at the same time keeping building costs down

to a minimum, 317



IRISH MONTHLY

Most of the produce from H.S.B. factories is utilized within the H.S.B. Movement. Numbers of prefabricated houses, however, are

sold on the open market whilst others are exported to many different

countries. In an endeavour to expand its foreign trade the H.S.B.

Movement has established a special department for industrial plan

ning. This department works out plans on behalf of foreign customers

for the construction and equipment of various types of factories and

in addition arranges the delivery of machinery. Similar service is also

available in the case of hospitals and dwelling houses.

Day Nurseries

In addition to providing living accommodation the H.S.B. Move ment also acts as a welfare organization possessing a strong sense of

responsibility towards its members. One aspect of this work, com

menced many years ago, is the provision of day nurseries for the

children of the tenants in H.S.B. houses. As Swedish wives began, more and more, to take up salaried employment outside the home

(at present approximately one-third of the married women in Stock

holm go out to work) so it became necessary to arrange for the care

of their children during the day. To meet this need nurseries were

established where children could be left for the whole day or for part of it in the care of a specially trained staff.

A more recent development in the work of caring for children is

the construction in Stockholm of a special "

children's hotel ". This is

a place where children can be accommodated for periods up to three

months and parents often place their children here while they take

their holiday or if they should find it necessary to make a protracted

stay away from home. Sometimes a contagious disease in the family makes it desirable to house children in this way in order to keep them

from the danger of infection.

At first H.S.B. experienced considerable difficulty in obtaining trained staff in sufficient numbers to meet its needs. This difficulty

was finally overcome however by establishing a special training course

in child welfare. The care of children requires a highly skilled staff

possessing patience, personal authority, fondness for children and a

sense of responsibility towards their charges, together with an under

standing of child psychology and modern educational methods. The

two-year course at the H.S.B. Socio-Pedagogic Seminary is planned to

318



HOUSING IN SWEDEN

stimulate just these things. The school is now able to provide all the

H.S.B. Movement's needs for such highly-skilled personnel.

Tenants' Unions

These organizations have already been mentioned and the im

portance of their early history from the point of view of the develop ment of the Swedish Co-operative Housing Movement has been

stressed. It is necessary, however, in order that the importance of

their present position shall not become obscured by the more solid

achievements which represent the activities of the other housing or

ganizations, to give some idea of their present endeavours on behalf of

the tenant.

The formation of the H.S.B. societies on the initiative of the

Tenants' Unions did not mean that the work of these unions was

complete. On the contrary this type of organization in later years, par

ticularly after the outbreak of the Second World War, became more

and more the guardian of the interests of every tenant who rented his

flat or house.

The main object of the Tenants' Union is to secure the protection of the tenant from the illegal and unfair methods practised by un

scrupulous landlords. All tenants may become members of Tenants'

Unions, whether they live in a co-operative, municipal or privately owned apartment. The unions give legal advice and represent the

tenant in court. They also draw up contracts between the tenant and

the landlord and in general try to ensure that the parties adhere to

their agreement.

Soon after the start of the last war, when the rent restriction law

came into force, there were landlords who did not take kindly to this

restriction of their right to raise the rents of their apartments and,

therefore, endeavoured to find means to evade the effect of the law.

Many disputes between tenants and their landlords followed (these still continue unabated) and the bulk of the work of protecting the

tenants' interests fell on the Tenants' Unions. The unions represent the tenant at the rent tribunals, which have been established up and

down the country by the Swedish authorities, and carry out inspec tions of apartments in order to ensure that the landlord is fulfilling the conditions laid down in the contract between him and his tenants.

(Very often landlords will seek to supplement the financial return

319



IRISH MONTHLY

from their property by refusing to carry out the repairs and decora

tions agreed upon by them when the contracts with their tenants were

drawn up. When this happens it becomes necessary for the Tenants'

Union to ensure that the landlord discharges his obligations to his

tenants.) Some idea of the housing position in Sweden and of the task falling

ti the lot of the Tenants' Unions can be gained from the following information. In 1942, with the rents in Stockholm reputed to be the

highest in Europe, the inhabitants of the city were spending 30 per cent, of their incomes on rent. To-day, with rents frozen by law, with

costs up by about 50 per cent and wages considerably above their

1942 level, rents account for between 20 to 25 per cent, of people's incomes. Add to this the fact that there are over 30,000 people with

their names on the waiting list for apartments and the importance of

the Tenants' Union as the custodian of tenant interests will be under

stood.

Given a continuation of the conditions described above and the

incentive they offer to the unprincipled with the desire for gain, it

would seem that the main task of the Tenants' Union is settled for

many years to come. However, despite this rather overwhelming call

upon its time, the union still finds time to carry on its other activities.

In addition to its normal propaganda for better houses and living conditions for the people, it is continuously to the forefront in urging the Government to support the idea of better houses, with subsidies

if necessary, granted to, and under the control of, the local authority.

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co-operative housing in sweden

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