This paper critically evaluates the changes in the housing system and housing policies of the Czech Republic after 1989. The dismantling of the old socialist housing system, part of a more general transformation of Czech society, is shown to have been guided in the first instance by the belief that the introduction of a market model would create a balanced housing economy. The subsequent failure of this approach has led to the adoption of more pragmatic housing policies which have been developed in conjunction with continued efforts to establish a housing finance system. The paper concludes that the housing needs of low-income households require the introduction of new forms of affordable social housing.
