SOCIAL HOUSING & MANAGEMENT. REFLECTIONS AND ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL & REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Social housing is a phenomenon that has introduced significant changes in the residential sector. The distinguishing feature of this new way of building dwellings is the supply of residential solutions at lower rents than the market rents, which are built to form a relationship with the territory, and equipped with a host of new services that had not been provided in that specific area yet. At the same time it also marks the beginning of a change in the concepts of dwelling and of living that involve, in turn, the need for an innovative form of residential building management. A property featuring apartments for rent requires careful management skills that must take into account several factors. Private individuals are increasingly involved in social housing initiatives, but they are not sufficiently ready and prepared to deal with social housing projects with rigor and professionalism. Facility management alone cannot cater for all real estate issues, which also entail skills in social management, and in building relationships with the community that settles in the new social housing area. The whole results in the combination of these skills: 1. management and maintenance of buildings; 2. administration of the settlement; 3. social support aimed at the community; 4. involvement of residents in the organization of community life and in the care of common spaces. So far, discussions and debates concerning social housing have focused mostly on the architectural, cultural, social and practical feasibility of such operations. Today social housing has become a concrete reality that is spreading all over the country. We believe that in order to further the development of the concept of social housing, experts need to think over the management of social housing projects throughout their entire life-cycle. This paper intends to address the issue of the management of residential buildings for rent, with special focus on all the aspects that characterize it, both real-estate and social ones.