In recent years, both in social science and political circles, there has been a growing consensus on the multi-aspectual nature of poverty. Poverty not only refers to a lack of income, but also to an inadequate participation in different domains of life, such as employment, education, housing and health. Starting from the operationalization of poverty as a ‘network of social exclusions’, we estimate the relative importance of housing problems as a dimension of poverty for four countries: Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain. The choice of countries is based on their different position in mainstream welfare state typologies and housing system typologies. We conclude that housing problems occupy a large part of everyday life for the poor in those countries where housing policy has not been considered an integral part of the post-war welfare state. This is the case for both Belgium and Spain.
