Since 2001, rapid population growth in large and mediumsized cities has led to a shortage of affordable housing for low-income residents, incoming migrants and even middle-class households. After the massive privatisation of housing in the 1990s, owner-occupancy is the dominant tenure in Kazakhstan, as it is in Eastern European and OECD countries. Given the extremely limited direct public provision of housing (including social housing), the private sector is best equipped to accommodate the rising demand for affordable housing in large cities.