Logo
Register Login ##{$loggedInUsername}##
 
Baner platformy  English Baner platformy  Język Polski
Page Header Logo
Published : 2025-12-31
Vol. 16 No. 57 (2025)

Household income as a criterion for granting municipal housing assistance – a case study of a large city in Poland

Maciej Koszel

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1613-2334

Łukasz Strączkowski

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5555-5324

Anna Mazurczak

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0311-1884

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35765/hp.2724
Section: Thematic Articles

Abstract

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The article aims to develop a model for determining the income threshold that qualifies households for municipal housing assistance in Poznań, Poland. The paper discusses the housing problem, housing affordability, and proposes a model for estimating income eligibility.

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The study examines public housing assistance and the criteria for granting it. It employs a literature review and critical analysis. The proposed model is grounded in the housing affordability index and household budget surveys. Quantitative data comes from the Poland Statistics, National Bank of Poland, Supreme Audit Office, Eurostat, academic studies, and market reports.

THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The model is developed based on a diagnosis of the current housing situation in Poland and identification of municipalities’ core challenge: providing housing support using objective and transparent criteria. Household income is adopted as the primary eligibility criterion. Two variants of determining the income threshold are created, allowing municipalities to assess whether households qualify for assistance.

RESEARCH RESULTS: Option 1 estimates the income threshold entitling households to apply for municipal housing, based on an affordability index ≥4.0 (housing unaffordability). Option 2 sets the threshold for purchasing a flat on the market, derived from market data and budget surveys. Findings suggest that support should focus particularly on single-person, two-person, five or more households, and single parents with children.

CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The income criterion combined with the affordability index constitutes an objective tool for evaluating household financial capacity and identifying those requiring housing support. Nevertheless, municipalities should supplement these measures with qualitative assessments. Households with an affordability index ≥4.0 can be considered in need of assistance, but thresholds must be adjusted to local housing policies, municipal finances, and available housing. Effective support requires an individualised approach aligned with local conditions and needs.

Keywords

housing policy ; housing affordability ; aid criteria



Details

References

Indicators

Authors

Download files

PDF (Język Polski)

Zasady cytowania

Altmetric indicators


Licence

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are asked to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

 

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). We advise to use any of the following reserach society portals:


Redakcja czasopisma
Horyzonty Polityki
email: horyzonty@ignatianum.edu.pl
email: horyzonty.polityki@ignatianum.edu.pl
tel. +48 12 3999 651
Ważne adresy:
https://www.ignatianum.edu.pl
https://wydawnictwo.ignatianum.edu.pl
O platformie:
Copyright 2019 by Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie
OJS Support and Customization by LIBCOM
Platform & workfow by OJS/PKP