France,Holland, Belgium and Germany—a look at their housing problems and policies

The Overall common problems of these four countries could be summarised as follows: a very rapid rise in the price of land and building costs; the contrast between a high level of housing need and an apparent over-production of housing; the universal realisation that older properties are often potential slums and that not more than 2.3% of the total stock is new housing, therefore continual renovation is essential for keeping up reasonable housing standards.