Vienna is considered a prime example of decommoditised housing. More than 40% of the population live in social housing and rent control applies to large parts of the private rental sector. However, Vienna's housing system is increasingly under pressure. Sarah Kumnig and Katharina Litschauer apply the concept of (de-)commodification to investigate how housing becomes a commodity by degree in the social as well as the private rental sector. They analyse how both, policy instruments and provision practices, in new housing construction and housing allocation enable or constraint the commodity form of housing – i.e. the dominance of exchange value over use value – and what consequences this has for housing conditions. In doing so, they point to current transformations of the housing system and outline possible pathways for advancing decommodification.
 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19491247.2025.2458389, opens an external URL in a new window