Housing policy during COVID-19 crisis: Challenges and solutions

The coronavirus pandemic, which started in December 2019 and is currently spreading rapidly around the world, has a noticeable impact on the economy and thus also on the housing market. Since the measures to curb the spread are causing economic activies to decline massively, small and medium-sized companies in the service, hospitality, and transport sectors in particular, but also the self-employed, are often unable to meet their short-term obligations such as rents, loan interest, and labor costs. Private tenants are also affected, if they receive no or significantly less income due to the containment regulations. Suggested and implemented measures aim to help the tenants and homeowners in these difficult times. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the plans and actual measures undertaken by examining their advantages and disadvantages based on the experience of various countries.