3. Housing and Living Conditions of Youth – Caught Between COVID-19 and Structural Challenges

Authors

Rudi Klanjšek
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2242-5355
Iva Odak
Institute for Social Research in Zagreb
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4249-4964
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.3

Synopsis

This chapter explores the housing and living conditions of youth in Slovenia and Croatia, highlighting how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing structural challenges. The pandemic intensified housing insecurity through job losses, campus closures, and forced returns to parental homes, increasing stress, anxiety, and family strain. Youth in both countries leave home considerably later than the EU average, with financial constraints representing the main barrier to independent living. Croatia faces particularly high overcrowding rates, while in both contexts, housing deprivation is strongly linked to poorer mental health and lower life satisfaction. A severe affordability crisis, driven by rapidly rising housing prices and insufficient public housing, has further delayed transitions to autonomy. These trends reflect broader issues of labour market precarity, deregulated housing markets, and limited social investment. Policy implications include the urgent need for expanded social housing, rent subsidies, anti-speculation measures, and integrated youth-oriented strategies linking housing, employment, and mental health to ensure sustainable pathways toward independence and well-being.

Author Biographies

Rudi Klanjšek, University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts

Dr. Rudi Klanjšek, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, where he earned his doctorate in sociology. His expertise covers cross-cultural research on youth, including employment, housing, well-being, and deviance, as well as globalization, modernization, social change, inequality, and economic development. He was previously a research fellow at Auburn University (USA) and has been a guest lecturer at European institutions such as the University of Bologna, University of Orleans, and Masaryk University. He is also a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Post-Socialist Societies (CePSS) and a member of the Slovenian Sociological Association.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: rudi.klanjsek@um.si

Iva Odak, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb

Dr. Iva Odak, holds a doctorate in sociology from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. She is a Research Associate at the Centre for Educational Research and Development, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, and an External Associate and lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, teaching Sociology of Education and Art, Society, and Education. Her research focuses on the sociology of education, especially educational inequalities and the social dimension of education. She has led and participated in numerous national and international projects and actively publishes and presents at academic conferences.

Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail:

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Volume

Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study

Pages

49-72

Published

September 3, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Klanjšek, R., & Odak, I. (2025). 3. Housing and Living Conditions of Youth – Caught Between COVID-19 and Structural Challenges. In A. Naterer & D. Potočnik (Eds.), Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study (pp. 49-72). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.3