**2. Hypotheses**

Four hypotheses have been formally formulated, which we tried to support or reject using different research methods, focusing especially on the questionnaire and the statistical data.

**Hypothesis 1**: *For the younger population, the problem represents economic and administrative barriers, since it makes it difficult for them to leave their parents' home into their first independent (own or rented) real estate.*

**Hypothesis 2**: *The elderly would move out of the current accommodation only in case of excessive maintenance costs or reduced autonomy in housework and personal care.*

**Hypothesis 3.1**: *The younger population takes a quicker decision to move/abandon (sell) the current real estate (place of residence) due to relocation into a financially/cost-effective variant/form of residence than the older population.*

**a.** Balanced offer of suitable housing

urban and social renewal.

**b.** Easier access to housing

of different types.

While statistics show that the number of dwellings in the housing stock exceeds the number of households, this does not mean that the availability of suitable dwellings is appropriate. The imbalance is due to the discrepancy between the needs of the population about housing in certain locations, their actual availability, and quality. The provision of housing in major cities is insufficient, because there is the greatest demand for employment, schooling, access to public functions, services, and better transport connections. The consequence of the higher demand is higher real estate prices in such areas. Quite the opposite is with supply and demand in peripheral and economically less developed areas. The uninhabited housing stock is also responsible for the smaller number of apartments that are actually available. In 2011, 20% of the housing stock was probably uninhabited. Uninhabited housing stock is affected by the unfavorable location, the physical condition of the dwelling, and the lack of interest of the owner in using the apartment. In order to ensure a balanced supply of suitable housing, the policy is to activate existing uninhabited housing stock. In order to increase the housing stock, an adequate number of communicable utility lands are planned to be provided in the long term. Also, degraded areas are planned to be activated, enabling cities to have a wider

Housing for Younger and Older Populations http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78039 119

Housing accessibility is of a great importance for inhabitants in order to provide functionally suitable housing according to their needs. The criterion of housing accessibility is a relationship between the housing costs, that is, the prices and the income of an individual or a household. Particular emphasis is on the affordability of housing for different population groups. One of the biggest problems in Slovenia is the poor housing accessibility to younger and older individuals. The lack of rental housing is affected by poor access to housing, which represents only an 8% share of all dwellings. Most of the rented apartments are owner occupied. Data from 2015 showed that around 6600 households were waiting for a non-profit rental apartment. The situation on the rental housing market in the country is poor; almost a quarter are supposed to be rented illegally. Special attention is paid to young individuals and those who are just creating a family, and their creditworthiness is poor. It is necessary to increase the rented apartment stock, to establish the necessary mechanisms for providing housing for them, in terms of both long-term lease and the purchase or for buying the first apartment. On the other hand, the elderly find it difficult to cover the costs and need more adapted apartments to live in. In this area, housing policy foresees necessity in the provision of a greater number of sheltered housing and to improve the possibilities for different forms of coexistence. In addition to these two groups, housing policy also pays attention to those needed to (other) socially most vulnerable people, that is, those who remain without a roof over their heads due to evictions, natural disasters, violence, or financial threats. According to data from 2015, about 800 temporary accommodation units were expected to be lacking. For this, housing policy foresees necessity in ensuring the construction of an adequate living standard apartment, which should be at the lowest possible cost. For these three groups, it would be necessary to provide housing

**Hypothesis 3.2**: *Both the younger and the older populations do not want to share a common residence (intergenerational coexistence) in the same real estate.*
