Housing Security of Seniors in Poland – Living Conditions, Financial Burdens, and Housing Satisfaction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/EiP.2025.19Keywords
security, housing, senior, age above 65, living conditions, costs, rent, satisfactionAbstract
Motivation: For every single person, a place of residence is a part of their everyday life and a guarantee of their sense of security. Housing conditions have a significant influence on the overall quality of life. The sense of housing security is crucial, in particular for the elderly. The issue seems to be particularly relevant given demographic aging, as well as the demographic trends that shape both the current and future housing resources for seniors. Aim: The aim of this article is to evaluate the housing security of seniors aged 65 and over in Poland compared to the European Union, with particular emphasis on living conditions, financial burden and housing satisfaction. Method: 9 variables and 27 objects/EU(27) countries were used for assessment. The study covered the years 2013 and 2023, and the data was taken from Eurostat databases. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics, and gaps were calculated taking into account places of residence and age groups. Results: Housing conditions for seniors in Poland are improving, yet structural problems remain serious. Seniors in Poland continue to incur high housing expenses, and this applies most to those living alone. The high satisfaction level of seniors may conceal real difficulties and does not necessarily reflect issues such as poor technical condition of premises, rising maintenance costs, and the lack of housing adapted to the needs of an aging population.
References
Acolin, A., & Reina, V. (2022). Housing cost burden and life satisfaction. Journal of housing and the built environment : HBE, 37(4), 1789–1815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-021-09921-1.
Adamkiewicz, G., Spengler, J. D., Harley, A. E., Stoddard, A., Yang, M., Alvarez-Reeves, M., & Sorensen, G. (2014). Environmental Conditions in Low-Income Urban Housing: Clustering and Associations With Self-Reported Health. American Journal of Public Health, 104(9), 1650–1656. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301253.
Adamkiewicz, G., Zota, A. R., Fabian, M. P., Chahine, T., Julien, R., Spengler, J. D., & Levy, J. I. (2011). Moving Environmental Justice Indoors: Understanding Structural Influences on Residential Exposure Patterns in Low-Income Communities. American Journal of Public Health, 101(S1), S238–S245. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300119.
Bieszk-Stolorz, B., & Dmytrów, K. (2023). The Well-Being-Related Living Conditions of Elderly People in the European Union—Selected Aspects. Sustainability, 15(24), https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416823.
Bojanowska, E. (2021). Środowisko i miejsce zamieszkania w życiu osób starszych. Polityka Społeczna, 11–12, 10–16. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0015.5996
Bugajska, B., & Iwański, R. (2018). Zaspokojenie potrzeb mieszkaniowych niesamodzielnych osób starszych – w poszukiwaniu optymalnych rozwiązań. Exlibris Biblioteka Gerontologii Społecznej, 1-2 (15), 12–25. https://doi.org/10.24917/24500232.15.1.
Chu, M. T., Fenelon, A., Rodriguez, J., Zota, A. R., & Adamkiewicz, G. (2022). Development of a multidimensional housing and environmental quality index (HEQI): Application to the American Housing Survey. Environmental Health, 21(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00866-8.
Crove, D., Haas, J., Millot, V., Rawdanowicz, Ł., & Turban, S. (2022). Population ageing and government revenue: Expected trends and policy considerations to boost revenue (Papers No. 1737). OECD Economics Department Working. Retrieved form https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/population-ageing-and-government-revenue_9ce9e8e3-en.html (22.05.2025).
D’Alessandro, D., & Appolloni, L. (2020). Housing and health. An overview. W Annali Di Igiene Medicina Preventiva E Di Comunità (1, pp. 17–26). Roma. Retrieved form https://iris.uniroma1.it/handle/11573/1455941 (25.02.2025).
D’Alessandro, D., Gola, M., Appolloni, L., Dettori, M., Fara, G. M., Rebecchi, A., Settimo, G., & Capolongo, S. (2020). COVID-19 and Living space challenge. Well-being and Public Health recommendations for a healthy, safe, and sustainable housing. Acta Bio Medica : Atenei Parmensis, 91(9-S), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i9-S.10115.
Dewilde, C. (2022). How housing affects the association between low income and living conditions-deprivation across Europe. Socio-Economic Review, 20(1), 373–400. https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwab003.
EC. (2024). Ageing Europe—Statistics on population developments. Retrieved form https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Ageing_Europe_-_statistics_on_population_developments (21.05.2025).
EC. (2025). Population structure and ageing. Retrieved form https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Population_structure_and_ageing (21.05.2025).
Engel, L., Chudyk, A. M., Ashe, M. C., McKay, H. A., Whitehurst, D. G. T., & Bryan, S. (2016). Older adults’ quality of life – Exploring the role of the built environment and social cohesion in community-dwelling seniors on low income. Social Science & Medicine, 164, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.008.
Eurostat. (2025a). Retrieved form https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database (13.03-15.05.2025).
Eurostat. (2025b). Income and living conditions (ilc). Retrieved form https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/ilc_sieusilc.htm (13.05.2025).
Fenelon, A., & Mawhorter, S. (2020). Housing Affordability and Security Issues Facing Older Adults in the United States. The Public Policy and Aging Report, 31(1), 30–32. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/praa038.
Feng, I.-M., Chen, J.-H., Zhu, B.-W., & Xiong, L. (2018). Assessment of and Improvement Strategies for the Housing of Healthy Elderly: Improving Quality of Life. Sustainability, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030722.
Fernández-Portero, C., Alarcón, D., & Barrios Padura, Á. (2017). Dwelling conditions and life satisfaction of older people through residential satisfaction. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 49, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.11.003.
Gorczyca, K., & Grabiński, T. (2018). Ageing in place: Residential satisfaction in Polish housing-estate communities. Ageing and Society, 38(12), 2410-2434. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X17000630.
Green, K.-A., Bovell-Ammon, A., & Sandel, M. (2021). Housing and Neighborhoods as Root Causes of Child Poverty. Academic Pediatrics, 21(8), S194–S199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2021.08.018.
Groeger, L. (2024). Senior housing policy in Poland: Determinants and desiderata. European Spatial Research and Policy, 31(2), 187-212. https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.31.2.07.
GUS. (2023). Sytuacja osób starszych w Polsce w 2022 roku. stat.gov.pl. Retrieved form https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/osoby-starsze/osoby-starsze/sytuacja-osob-starszych-w-polsce-w-2022-roku,2,5.html (21.05.2025).
GUS. (2025). Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Metainformacje / Słownik pojęć / Pojęcia stosowane w statystyce publicznej. Retrieved form https://stat.gov.pl/metainformacje/slownik-pojec/pojecia-stosowane-w-statystyce-publicznej/3928,pojecie.html (22.05.2025).
Gutkowska, K. (2003). Diagnoza funkcjonowania wiejskich gospodarstw domowych na przełomie wieków. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo SGGW.
Hick, R., Pomati, M., & Stephens, M. (2022). Severe Housing Deprivation in the European Union: A Joint Analysis of Measurement and Theory. Social Indicators Research, 164(3), 1271–1295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02987-6.
Howden-Chapman, P., Bennett, J., Edwards, R., Jacobs, D., Nathan, K., & Ormandy, D. (2023). Review of the Impact of Housing Quality on Inequalities in Health and Well-Being. Annual Review of Public Health, 44(Volume 44), 233–254. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071521-111836.
Jazayeri, E., Kazemipour, S., Hosseini, S. R., & Radfar, M. (2023). Quality of life in the elderly: A community study. Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine, 14(3), 534–542. https://doi.org/10.22088/cjim.14.3.543.
Jenkins Morales, M., & Robert, S. A. (2021). Housing Cost Burden and Health Decline Among Low- and Moderate-Income Older Renters. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 77(4), 815–826. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab184.
Kabisch, S., Poessneck ,Janine, Soeding ,Max, & and Schlink, U. (2022). Measuring residential satisfaction over time: Results from a unique long-term study of a large housing estate. Housing Studies, 37(10), 1858–1876. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1867083.
Kocot, E. (2011). Przemiany demograficzne – świat, Europa, Polska. Wpływ zmian demograficznych na rynek pracy i sektor ochrony zdrowia. Zdrowie Publiczne i Zarządzanie, 2011(Tom 9, Numer 1), 5–24.
Kolesnikova, I. (2022). Housing security as an indicator of the living environment. Nierówności Społeczne a Wzrost Gospodarczy, 69. https://doi.org/10.15584/nsawg.2022.1.6.
Kutty, N. K. (2005). A new measure of housing affordability: Estimates and analytical results. Housing Policy Debate, 16(1), 113–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2005.9521536.
Lawrence, R. J. (2004). Housing and health: From interdisciplinary principles to transdisciplinary research and practice. Futures, 36(4), 487–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2003.10.001.
Maier, M. (2016). Skutki starzenia się społeczeństwa dla rynku pracy w Polsce—Wybrane aspekty. Marketing i Rynek, nr 3 (CD), 511–520.
Malik, K., & Mikołajczak, E. (2019). Senior Housing Universal Design as a Development Factor of Sustainable-Oriented Economy. Sustainability, 11(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247093.
Mansour, A., Bentley, R., Baker, E., Li, A., Martino, E., Clair, A., Daniel, L., Mishra, S. R., Howard, N. J., Phibbs, P., Jacobs, D. E., Beer, A., Blakely, T., & Howden-Chapman, P. (2022). Housing and health: An updated glossary. J Epidemiol Community Health, 76(9), 833–838. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-219085.
McConnell, E. D. (2013). Who has housing affordability problems? Disparities in Housing Cost burden by Race, Nativity and Legal Status in Los Angeles. Race and social problems, 5(3), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-013-9086-x.
Ministerstwo Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej. (2025). Mieszkanie chronione. https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/mieszkanie-chronione
Mitro, S. D., Dodson, R. E., Singla, V., Adamkiewicz, G., Elmi, A. F., Tilly, M. K., & Zota, A. R. (2016). Consumer Product Chemicals in Indoor Dust: A Quantitative Meta-analysis of U.S. Studies. Environmental Science & Technology, 50(19), 10661–10672. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02023.
Murawska, A. (2009). Ocena warunków mieszkaniowych w gospodarstwach domowych w Polsce. Roczniki Naukowe Stowarzyszenia Ekonomistów Rolnictwa i Agrobiznesu, 11(4), 213–218.
Muszyński, M. (2022). The image of old age emerging from place personalization in older adults’ dwellings. Journal of Aging Studies, 63, 101075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2022.101075.
Niezabitowski, M. (2018). Kilka uwag o problemach środowiska zamieszkania na tle potrzeb osób starszych dotyczących tej sfery. EXLIBRIS Biblioteka Gerontologii Społecznej, 1-2 (15) /2018 Gdzie mieszka starość Przestrzeń – architektura – mieszkanie, 26–42. https://doi.org/10.24917/24500232.15.2.
Nowak, K. (2023). Differentia specifica mieszkalnictwa w Polsce na arenie międzynarodowej. Wiadomości Statystyczne. The Polish Statistician, 68(2), 16–38. https://doi.org/10.59139/ws.2023.02.2.
Oleńczuk-Paszel, A., & Sompolska-Rzechuła, A. (2025). Housing Conditions and the Quality of Life of the Populations of the European Union Countries. Sustainability, 17(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041550.
Padeiro, M., de São José, J., Amado, C., Sousa, L., Roma Oliveira, C., Esteves, A., & McGarrigle, J. (2022). Neighborhood Attributes and Well-Being Among Older Adults in Urban Areas: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review. Research on Aging, 44(5–6), 351–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027521999980.
Papież, M. (2007). Wpływ procesu starzenia się ludności na zmiany zachodzące na rynku pracy na przykładzie wybranych krajów Unii Europejskiej w latach 1998-2004. Zeszyty Naukowe / Akademia Ekonomiczna w Krakowie, nr 740, 51–73.
Polakowski, M. (2012). Społeczne i ekonomiczne konsekwencje starzenia się społeczeństw a główne kierunki reform systemów emerytalnych w Europie. Studia BAS, 2(30), 169–199.
Prochorskaite, A., & Maliene, V. (2013). Health, well-being and sustainable housing. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 17(1), 44–57. https://doi.org/10.3846/1648715X.2012.762949.
Ritchie, H., Rodés-Guirao, L., Mathieu, E., Gerber, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E., Hasell, J., & Roser, M. (2023). Population Growth. Our World in Data. Retrieved form https://ourworldindata.org/population-growth (21.05.2025).
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2019). Age Structure. Our World in Data. Retrieved form https://ourworldindata.org/age-structure (21.05.2025).
Rodgers, S. E., Bailey, R., Johnson, R., Poortinga, W., Smith, R., Berridge, D., Anderson, P., Phillips, C., Lannon, S., Jones, N., Dunstan, F. D., Morgan, J., Evans, S. Y., Every, P., & Lyons, R. A. (2018). Health impact, and economic value, of meeting housing quality standards: A retrospective longitudinal data linkage study. Public Health Research, 6(8). https://doi.org/10.3310/phr06080.
Rolfe, S., Garnham, L., Godwin, J., Anderson, I., Seaman, P., & Donaldson, C. (2020). Housing as a social determinant of health and wellbeing: Developing an empirically-informed realist theoretical framework. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1138. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09224-0.
United Nations. (2009). The Right to Adequate Housing. Fact Sheet n. 21/Rev. 1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved form https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004502758_044 (28.02.2025).
United Nations. (2025). The human right to adequate housing. OHCHR. Retrieved form https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/human-right-adequate-housing (22.05.2025).
WHO. (2018). WHO Housing and health guidelines. World Health Organization. World Health Organization Housing and Health Guidelines. Retrieved form https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/276001/9789241550376-eng.pdf (26.02.2025).
Wu, S., Fu, Y., & Yang, Z. (2022). Housing condition, health status, and age-friendly housing modification in Europe: The last resort? Building and Environment, 215, 108956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.108956.
Zalega, T. (2016). Incomes and Savings of Polish Seniors in View of Research Outcomes. Problemy Zarzadzania, 14(59), 135–155.
Zhou, Z., Ma, Y., Du, W., Zhou, K., & Qi, S. (2022). Housing Conditions and Adolescents’ Socioemotional Well-being: An Empirical Examination from China. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 17(5), 2721–2741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-021-09998-4.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Anna Murawska, Adrianna Guzowska
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 158
Number of citations: 0
