Boosting affordable housing supply: Could type approval of serially produced housing be a piece in the puzzle?

The housing shortage has become a major political concern in Sweden and Germany. To ease tension on housing markets, both the Swedish and German central governments aim to extend housing supply and have highlighted type approval of multi-family housing as an important concept in the provision of affordable housing. The article outlines the role of serial housing construction in a historical as well as a contemporary setting, and describes the roles of agents and institutional prerequisites related to housing policy, urban planning and building permission in the two countries. The comparative data is analysed using theories on institutional change, with the aim of tentatively explaining why and how institutional change evolves. Results show that shifts in relative prices, technology and preferences are driving reform. Although the major agents (central governments, states, municipalities and developers) have different motives for supporting or working against reform, a majority of agents are acting in favour of reform. It is concluded that it is probable that type approval of multi-family housing will be introduced in both countries. However, the time for negotiations on the scope of reform between agents involved is expected to be shorter in Sweden than in Germany, due to Sweden’s fewer layers of government and a stronger set of decisive agents. Once an agreement has been reached, reform is expected to be quicker in Germany than in Sweden as legal text and an assessment institution already exist.