The report concludes: “It is perfectly possible for the state to procure and provide a ordable housing that is developed and subsequently nanced with private capital. The incentives for private capital can come from tax credits or state subsidy, linked to long-term guarantees, or requirements that the stock be let at below-market rates. No two approaches are exactly the same, since they re ect the existing tax structure and local custom and practice. This is not a hindrance to private sector capital, although it is probably true that those involved in this market have to develop a particular specialism and, at heart, have to be in sympathy with the social objectives of the various programs.

One thing is very clear, the reversion of the a ordable stock to full market rent at the end of a period, or indeed, its sale to private owners, is a powerful incentive for ultra-long- term investors. With the emergence of the global savings glut in recent years, there are many more potential long-term investors than there used to be. Governments in the OECD, faced with the need to provide increased levels of social housing against a backdrop of constrained public nances, could easily work with this long-term capital to meet a social need and open up new investment possibilities.”