2004-01-12 1 To own or to rent? The experience of housing privatisation on public housing dwellers in Hanoi By Hoai Anh Tran and Elisabeth Dalholm Department of Architecture, Lund University Introduction This paper presents selected findings from a survey carried out in June 2002 in Hanoi, within the framework of the project ‘Privatisation of public housing in Hanoi, the impacts on housing quality and social equality’, supported by Sida. The project analyses the consequences of privatisation on the housing conditions of tenants and sitting owners who live in privatised and privatising apartment buildings. A broad range of issues, from social to managerial, are covered in the survey. In this paper we have focused on the consequences of privatisation on the housing and living conditions of tenants compared to that of owners. Central questions are: To what extent is privatisation a means for dwellers to have control over their housing? Does privatisation bring about better housing conditions? For whom? Is there a connection between ownership, housing satisfaction and housing quality? The survey found that a subsidy policy exists that mainly benefits senior government officials, who usually already have considerable wealth and high social status. The policy ignores people who work in the private sector and young families. Well-off owner households have better housing and better premises to improve their housing conditions, while low-income tenants live in degraded buildings with little possibility of improvement. The study indicates a higher rate of discontent among tenant households compared to owner households. Housing quality is also an issue. Privatisation has not brought about clear improvements in housing conditions, as was expected and promoted. Though certain improvements have been made to individual flats after privatisation, these are few and are similar in scale to improvements implemented before privatisation. In addition, there is a serious degradation of common areas in privatised and privatising buildings, due to a lack of clarity about the responsibilities of the housing companies, tenants and owners concerning maintenance and management. Democratisation or segregation? The discourses on housing privatisation Over the last two decades, in many countries, privatisation has been a significant trend in housing delivery. Privatisation is presented as a measure to liberalise housing markets, increase productivity and efficiency, and extend consumer choice and influence (Linneman et al. 1994, Whitehead 1993). It is discussed as part of the decentralisation and democratisation process, leading to the withdrawal of government intervention, and giving more freedom and authority to communities, groups and