The fight against homelessness and its links with anti-poverty policies in Sweden

Abstract

Homelessness has increased significantly in Sweden since the early 1990s. A national survey
of homelessness in 2023 showed that 27,383 people were in one of the four homelessness
situations that are recognised in Sweden, namely: (a) acute homelessness; (b) institutional or
supported housing; (c) long-term housing organised by a municipality; and (d) short-term
accommodation arranged by people themselves. These homelessness situations largely
overlap with the categories included in the ETHOS1 Light framework.
The number above corresponds to around 0.26% of the Swedish population. Of these
homeless people, 60% were men and 40% were women. Around 16% were in acute
homelessness, 10% lived in institutions, 62% lived in long-term housing solutions organised
by the municipal social services, and 12% lived temporarily in their own arranged
accommodation. Homelessness was particularly widespread in the larger cities, and 9,400
children were affected by homelessness. Only 5% of homeless people in Sweden needed
support with housing alone. A clear majority of homeless people thus had complex problems.
People who experience only housing difficulties are largely left to take responsibility for their
housing situation themselves.
The reasons for homelessness in Sweden are multi-faceted. An important factor is the difficulty
of accessing housing in the private market due to a lack of accommodation available at
reasonable rents. Many homeless people are also not approved as tenants due to low income
or debts. Other reasons are social problems such as substance abuse and mental illness.
Domestic violence is often a cause of homelessness among women. There is also a close link
between evictions and homelessness. In 2024, 3,042 evictions were carried out, 711 of which
affected children.
Sweden's national homelessness strategy runs from 2022 until 2026. The government has
allocated SEK 80 million (around EUR 7.3 million) per year to implement the strategy. The
national homelessness strategy has four goals: (a) preventing homelessness; (b) making sure
that no one lives rough on the streets; (c) introducing the housing first method nationally; and
(d) strengthening the social perspective in community planning. The content of the Swedish
homelessness strategy corresponds to the goals in the Lisbon Declaration of 2021. The
National Board of Health and Welfare has the main responsibility for implementing the strategy,
which requires cooperation with municipalities and other authorities as well as relevant
organisations and stakeholders.
Despite the adoption and implementation of a national homelessness strategy, there are major
challenges in meeting the goals of the Lisbon Declaration. One obstacle is that Sweden lacks
a national anti-poverty strategy. Since the early 1990s housing policy in Sweden has changed
significantly as the state has reduced its responsibility for providing housing, which has become
increasingly market-driven. State subsidies in the rental market have disappeared, while state
support for the private housing sector has increased. This has created serious problems, with
a shortage of rental housing stock for low-income groups. To combat homelessness, social
and housing policy reforms are required to eliminate inequality in the housing market.
Adequate social interventions are also needed to provide homeless people with safe and
stable housing. The implementation of evidence-based methods to prevent and combat
homelessness, such as housing first, need to be expanded, as already emphasised in the
Swedish homelessness strategy.

Abstract (Swedish)

Homelessness has increased significantly in Sweden since the early 1990s. A national survey of homelessness in 2023 showed that 27,383 people were in one of the four homelessness situations that are used in Sweden, namely 1) Acute homelessness, 2) Institutional and supported housing, 3) Long-term housing organised by the municipality and 4) Short-term accommodation arranged on one’s own. These homelessness situations largely overlap with the categories included in the ETHOS Light framework.
This corresponds to around 0.26% of the Swedish population. Of these homeless people, 60% were men and 40% were women. Around 16% of the homeless people were in acute homelessness, 10% lived in institutions, 62% lived in long-term housing solutions organised by the municipal social services, and 12% lived temporarily in their own arranged accommodation. Homelessness is particularly widespread in the larger cities, and 9,400 children are affected by homelessness. Only 5% of the homeless people in Sweden needed support with housing alone. Thus, the clear majority of the homeless people have complex problems. People that only experience housing difficulties are largely left to take responsibility for their housing situation themselves.
The reasons for homelessness are multifaceted in Sweden. An important factor is the difficulty of accessing housing in the private market due to a lack of accommodation available at reasonable rents. Many homeless people are also not approved as tenants due to low income or debts. Other reasons are social problems such as substance abuse and mental illness. Domestic violence is often a cause of homelessness among women. There is also a close link between evictions and homelessness. In 2024, 3,042 evictions were carried out, out of which 711 evictions affected children.
Sweden's national homelessness strategy runs from 2022 until 2026. The government has allocated SEK 80 million (around EUR 7.3 million) per year to implement the strategy. The national homelessness strategy has four goals: 1) prevent homelessness; 2) make sure that no one lives rough on the streets; 3) introduce the Housing First method nationally; 4) strengthen the social perspective in community planning. The content of the Swedish homelessness strategy corresponds to the goals in the Lisbon Declaration from 2021. The National Board of Health and Welfare has the main responsibility for implementing the strategy, which requires cooperation with municipalities and other authorities as well as relevant organisations and stakeholders.
Despite the adoption and implementation of a national homelessness strategy, there are major challenges in meeting the goals of the Lisbon Declaration. One obstacle is that Sweden lacks a national anti-poverty strategy. Since the early 1990s, housing policy in Sweden has changed significantly as the state has reduced its responsibility for providing housing, which has become increasingly market-driven. State subsidies in the rental market have disappeared, while state support for the private housing sector has increased. This has created serious problems with a shortage of rental housing stock for low-income groups. To combat homelessness, social and housing policy reforms are required to eliminate inequality in the housing market. Adequate social interventions are also needed to provide homeless people with safe and stable housing. The implementation of evidence-based methods to prevent and combat homelessness, such as Housing First, need to be expanded, as already emphasised in the Swedish homelessness strategy.

• author: Kristiansen, Arne and Nelson, Kenneth
• organization: School of Social Work; Addiction Research
• alternative title: Kampen mot hemlöshet och dess kopplingar till fattigdomsbekämpande policyer i Sverige
• publishing date: 2025-11-14
• type: Book/Report
• publication status: published
• subject: Social Sciences; Social Work
• keywords: homelessness policies poverty housing
• pages: 41 pages
• publisher: European Commission
• language: English
• LU publication?: yes
• id: 804d4fe6-08d4-45b3-b68c-24a6dc814bd9
• alternative location: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/circabc-ewpp/ui/group/bab664d7-1188-47b2-9fa6-869902320ba2/library/fa62b2ae-6f2d-4f9b-b252-4c5e4f54aae6?p=3&n=10&sort=name_ASC
• date added to LUP: 2025-11-16 18:05:25
• date last changed: 2025-11-19 11:44:56