‘Generation Rent’ in a Super Homeownership Environment: The Case of Budapest, Hungary

Abstract

The paper examines the applicability of the concept of ‘generation rent’ in the ‘super-homeownership’ housing regime and better-off focused welfare regime of Hungary. Available official statistical and survey data show the increase in private rentals among young households, and the appearance of private rental housing as a potential longer-term solution in the attitudes of young people towards housing. In the Hungarian context, the strong role of intergenerational transfers in access to home ownership and public housing policies contribute to the development of a ‘generation rent’. Furthermore, housing policies also affect the housing experiences of the Hungarian ‘generation rent’. In order to reduce tenure security and affordability risks, many households turn to family and friend networks. The involvement of family relations tends to prolong dependency on the family, thus affecting the youth-adulthood transition. Meanwhile the housing career plans of young people reflect the strongly ownership-oriented public discourse, even in the case of low-status young people, for whom acquiring homeownership is not a realistic aspiration. The analysis argues that the concept can be applied in the Hungarian context; however, the development, housing experiences, and housing career plans of ‘generation rent’ in Hungary are strongly influenced by the specific welfare regime and housing system context.