Access to decent housing

The quality of housing is an important aspect of living standards. To live in an attractive and spacious house or apartment in a pleasant and convenient location is one of the main aspirations of most people. The quality of housing, therefore, is a major element of a person's well-being. Conversely, housing deficiencies - defined in a broad sense to encompass environmental factors and the lack of accessibility of essential services - are a significant indicator of deprivation.

Although the quality of housing tends to be positively related to income, the relationship is by no means perfect - especially at the lower end of the income scale, where the standard of accommodation depends not only on relative income but, more generally, on the housing available in the location in question and prevailing levels of house prices and rents.

The quality of housing is, accordingly, an important means of assessing living standards and the extent of deprivation in different parts of the EU. As such, it adds an extra dimension to comparisons that can be made of material deprivation, based on what people can afford to purchase, and one that is of major importance in its own right.