Аннотация:The purpose of this article is to explore whether housing policy has a special importance for immigrants, compared with the whole population, by comparing housing policies and immigrants' housing outcomes in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There are substantial differences between housing policies and housing outcomes in Nordic countries, despite their common background as social-democratic welfare states. The study shows that immigrants occupy a very different position on the housing market in each of these countries, and in particular that the degree of overcrowding among immigrants compared with the whole population varies a great deal. These differences can only to some extent be explained by inequalities between income groups on the housing markets in the countries: inequalities that affect immigrants. Other important explanations as to why immigrants have worse housing outcomes is the shortage of rental housing (e.g. in Norway), which increases the scope for discrimination and forces immigrants into overcrowded owner-occupied housing, and also rent and price control that create surplus demand and stronger competition between house hunters, which makes room for discrimination and reduces immigrants' access to private renting in particular (e.g. in Denmark). Housing policy initiatives that improve immigrants' housing options are strict needs tests for social/public housing (as is the case in Finland).
