YOUNG PEOPLE AND HOUSING IN EUROPE: DIMENSIONS AND DYNAMICS OF INEQUALITY

Housing plays a central role in the allocation of social resources and it is a key component of overall social stratification. Since the last decades of the 20th century, the increasing commodification, deregulation and financialisation of housing in Europe has had significant consequences. These include not only the restructuring of housing tenure systems, but also the reshaping of social relations and patterns of inequality, particularly among young adults. They have been identified as having the most concerning position within the housing domain in terms of their ability to achieve housing independence as well as in terms of the fragmentation and reversibility of their housing outcomes and living arrangements. In particular, the impact of rising housing costs and social insecurity has forced young adults to adapt their housing needs, experiences and trajectories to address the growing differentiation and stratification within housing market. This is relevant because access to housing is crucial for achieving individual independence and an acceptable level of well-being, and it should be accessible to all. Housing is not only a material shelter (house), but also a symbolic place (home) for its inhabitants - a site of social reproduction that provides safety and ontological security. Moreover, young adults' ability to access and navigate the housing market is highly context dependent. The degree of social inequality in housing is influenced by the social and economic configuration of housing within each institutional context. Therefore, using a stratification analysis perspective, this thesis examines the extent to which contemporary housing tenure systems and housing market dynamics influence social inequality in both the achievement of housing independence and the configuration of housing outcomes for young adults in Europe. It also considers the role of housing contexts and policies that (in)directly affect young adults' constraints, opportunities and perceptions in the housing dimension. This thesis comprises three empirical chapters, as well as a framing chapter that describes the theoretical and conceptual framework that supports the empirical investigation. The findings suggest that contemporary social stratification in young adults' housing trajectories and outcomes is far from being a limited phenomenon in Europe. The most important aspect in which social inequality appears is tenure status, both as a consequence of home-leaving processes and as a precondition for housing independence. However, this paper highlights other important aspects of housing inequality, such as housing conditions (i.e. quality, affordability) and the level of security associated with housing, which affect young adults' subjective well-being and living conditions. In addition, the findings show that even when the state promotes (typically restricted) access to social housing, this does not reduce social stratification in housing, nor does it attenuate the gap between homeowners and renters. Similarly, in contexts where access to home ownership is institutionally promoted for all social groups and it is used as a pillar of welfare to achieve stability and economic security, a certain degree, if not a greater extent, of social stratification in housing access and outcomes persists. In other words, the promotion of homeownership does not prevent the reproduction of housing inequalities and the accumulation of social advantages and disadvantages. Finally, this thesis suggests that a higher level of state intervention in the housing sector, combined with a stricter regulation of the private market and more accessible social (rental) housing, is likely to benefit all young adults, especially those with low and middle incomes. Such intervention in the housing market as a whole not only promotes access to decent and affordable housing in the pursuit of housing independence, but also reduces the social differentiation in young adults’ housing-living outcomes.