Social housing plays a crucial role in the development of housing market as well as housing exclusion. Contemporary, it is not only financed by the state, but also includes new forms of publicly supported and non-market housing, such as cooperatives, rent-geared-to-income, limited-dividend and non-profit housing provided by social agencies, community groups, non-profit private firms and political organisations other than governments. The aim of this book is to put forward new innovative solutions of financing housing needs of low- and medium-income households, which cannot afford a purchase of an adequate standard flat out of their own resources. Innovation in this aspect means a proposal to apply solutions which so far have not been used in Po­land or have not been used in social housing.

The book addresses the following research problem: do innovative solutions in the process of financing social housing needs determine a new financing paradigm for social housing and if yes, why? Looking for new and effective solutions enabling social financing of social housing, which will allow gradu­al meeting of domestic housing needs is connected with seeking a new financial paradigm for this housing sub-sector.