Housing tenures in times of change: Conversion debates in Slovenia

The paper considers the recent transformation of tenures in Slovenia. It examines the process, generally referred to as ‘privatisation of the housing stock’. Basic information about the size and the organisational frameworks of tenures are given for the past and for recent years. However, the main focus is on yet another level of changes—those in interpretative frameworks of tenures. The starting point is that the debates on privatisation of the housing stock, launched by proposals for new housing legislation, presented a context in which tenures were discussed in a specific manner and in which a new interpretative framework emerged. In contrast to debates under socialism, which emphasised the social distribution of tenures, recent emphasis has been placed on the characteristics of tenures. Tenures have begun to be perceived in a new way. The new interpretative framework was looked at on two levels. Firstly, by examining the parliamentary debates about the conversion of the social rentals into private dwellings, and secondly, by surveying attitudes towards conversion in a representative sample of the Slovenian population. When compared to ‘Western’ debates, those in Slovenia were more conversion ‘campaigns’ than ‘controversies’. Further examination of a variety of arguments in favour of conversion has indicated a fairly strong support for it, yet shows a lack of precisely articulated objectives for the conversion.