The article deals with a lack of adequate housing in Slovenia and analyses it as both 'an objective' issue per se as well as a socially constructed phenomenon. It is found that during the past decades the debates about inadequate floor space were mainly concerned about an inefficient use of housing and about the problem of too spacious dwellings, while the issue of overcrowded housing did not gain much recognition. Different definitions of adequate housing in the international documents and in the selected European countries are reviewed and different types of housing shortages are discussed. Moreover, their definitional specificities are discussed as well as the specific trends in the development of these definitions. The article also brings data on housing conditions in Slovenia trying to quantify the extent of overcrowded housing and the shortage dwellings that ensure secure and stablehousing. The authors found out that the average floor space of Slovenian housing is considerably smaller than in many European countries and that there is a pronounced shortage of secure and accessible rented dwellings. Along with that, the authors emphasise vulnerability of particular groups, such as single parent households, migrants etc.
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