The Impact of Housing Affordability on the Quality of Life of Immigrants in Lithuania
Abstract
Housing affordability is an important social and economic issue that can influence the wellbeing and quality of life of immigrants living in a new country. Immigrants may face particular difficulties accessing suitable and affordable housing due to differences in income, employment conditions, limited knowledge of the local housing market, language barriers, and difficulties accessing housing services. In addition to financial constraints, reluctance among some landlords to rent to foreign tenants and perceived discrimination in the rental market may further restrict immigrants' housing choices. These barriers can increase housing insecurity, financial pressure and dependence on less suitable living arrangements, potentially affecting overall quality of life. This study aims to examine the impact of housing affordability on the quality of life of immigrants in Lithuania. It will investigate housing costs relative to income, perceived housing affordability, housing conditions, access to rental housing, and experiences of reluctance or discrimination from landlords. Quality of life will be assessed through indicators including life satisfaction, financial wellbeing, living conditions, and overall wellbeing. A quantitative research approach will be adopted using a structured questionnaire administered to immigrants residing in Lithuania. The study is expected to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between housing affordability, access to housing, perceived discrimination, and quality of life among immigrants. The findings may contribute to a better understanding of housing barriers faced by immigrants and inform approaches aimed at improving housing accessibility, social integration, and quality of life in Lithuania.
Keywords
housing affordability; immigrants; quality of life; rental housing discrimination; housing conditions; wellbeing; Lithuania
1. Introduction
Housing affordability has become a pressing social and economic issue across Europe. Affordability concerns the relationship between what households must spend on housing and the incomes available to them, and over recent decades rents and house prices have diverged from household incomes in the metropolitan areas of many Western countries (Anacker, 2019, p. 3). The burden of this divergence has fallen most heavily on lower-income renters, for whom housing affordability and the supply of affordable dwellings have gradually declined (Anacker, 2019, p. 1). Pressures are especially acute where demand for housing grows through population increase and immigration while public provision remains insufficient (Anacker, 2019, p. 5). In empirical research, affordability is frequently operationalised through cost-to-income thresholds, with households commonly regarded as experiencing housing affordability stress when housing costs exceed 30 per cent of household income (Arundel et al., 2024, p. 53).
Immigrants are particularly exposed to these pressures. Beyond differences in income and employment, newcomers often lack the resources needed to navigate an unfamiliar housing system; knowing the possibilities and rules of the housing market frequently requires good language skills or access to advisers (Llopis Alvarez & Müller-Eie, 2022, p. 167). Such disadvantages translate into measurable differences in outcomes. In a study of two Norwegian neighbourhoods, immigrants were found to have less favourable housing circumstances than the local population, including in their type of residence, tenure and exposure to overcrowding (Llopis Alvarez & Müller-Eie, 2022, p. 168). Overcrowded housing, in turn, may harm physical and mental health, social relationships and children's development (Llopis Alvarez & Müller-Eie, 2022, p. 160).
Financial and informational constraints are compounded by discrimination in the rental market. There is extensive evidence from nearly all Western countries that ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in rental housing, living in smaller dwellings, paying higher rents per square metre and more often residing in poor-quality neighbourhoods (Auspurg et al., 2019, p. 97). A meta-analysis of 71 field experiments conducted across the United States, Canada and Europe found that nearly all of them documented ethnic discrimination by housing providers, although its extent has declined over time (Auspurg et al., 2019, p. 95). In 97 per cent of the experimental trials analysed, minority applicants were disadvantaged relative to majority applicants (Auspurg et al., 2019, p. 101). Part of this behaviour is consistent with statistical discrimination, whereby landlords and agencies use the ethnicity of applicants as a proxy for unobserved characteristics such as the ability to pay rent regularly (Auspurg et al., 2019, p. 98). For immigrants, such reluctance narrows the range of accessible dwellings.
These housing barriers matter because housing is closely bound up with quality of life and wellbeing. Housing circumstances such as type of residence and satisfaction with the dwelling have been shown to predict satisfaction with quality of life among both immigrant and local residents (Llopis Alvarez & Müller-Eie, 2022, p. 157). Unaffordability carries its own psychological costs: as well as providing shelter, the home can become a source of financial stress, anxiety and insecurity (Arundel et al., 2024, p. 50). Longitudinal evidence from the Netherlands shows a clear link between living in unaffordable housing and poorer mental health, an association that is particularly strong among renters and younger people (Arundel et al., 2024, p. 44). Immigrants, who frequently rent, may be especially exposed to these effects.
Lithuania offers an important but under-examined setting in which to study these relationships. Following accession to the European Union, the country experienced substantial emigration, while over the last two decades housing prices in Lithuanian cities increased between two- and tenfold alongside rising incomes (Laurinavičius et al., 2021, p. 102). Housing affordability has also been shown to shape where people choose to live within the country, with affordability and unemployment together explaining most of the variation in internal migration to Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda (Laurinavičius et al., 2021, p. 102). In recent years, however, Lithuania has increasingly become a destination for foreign nationals, adding to demand in its urban housing markets. Yet comparatively little is known about how immigrants in Lithuania experience housing affordability, access to rental housing and landlord discrimination, or how these experiences relate to their quality of life.
This study addresses that gap by examining the impact of housing affordability on the quality of life of immigrants in Lithuania. Using a structured questionnaire administered to immigrants residing in the country, it addresses the main research question: What is the impact of housing affordability on the quality of life of immigrants in Lithuania? To answer it, the study examines (1) the level of objective and perceived housing affordability among immigrants in Lithuania, together with their housing conditions; (2) the extent to which immigrants encounter barriers in accessing rental housing, including reluctance or discrimination from landlords; and (3) how housing affordability, housing conditions and experiences of discrimination are associated with immigrants' life satisfaction, financial wellbeing, living conditions and overall wellbeing. These questions are set out as five specific sub-questions in Section 1.2. The findings are intended to inform policies that improve housing accessibility, social integration and quality of life for immigrants.
1.1 Research Problem
Housing affordability is an increasingly important concern for immigrants in Lithuania because housing costs can place considerable pressure on households whose incomes are often limited, insecure or tied to temporary employment and residence permits. Across the European Union, immigrants are only around half as likely as their native-born peers to own their home, and around one in five immigrants pays more than 40 per cent of disposable income on rent, compared with roughly one in eight among the native-born (OECD & European Commission, 2023, p. 100). In Lithuania, Eurostat data indicate that in 2023 the housing cost overburden rate among adult non-EU citizens was 23.2 per cent, compared with 4.9 per cent among Lithuanian nationals, while 35.1 per cent of adult non-EU citizens lived in overcrowded dwellings, compared with 22.4 per cent of nationals (Eurostat, 2026b, 2026c). These pressures have arisen in a market in which house prices in 2025 stood at more than two and a half times their 2015 level (Eurostat, 2026a) and in which the number of foreign residents has grown rapidly since 2022 (Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania [Migration Department], 2026).
Affordability is not determined by housing costs and income alone. Households may also experience housing costs as a heavy burden even when their cost-to-income ratio falls below conventional thresholds, and both objective and perceived cost burdens are associated with lower life satisfaction (Acolin & Reina, 2022). Access to housing is a further constraint. A recent study of 144 non-EU nationals by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson (2025) found that foreigners seeking rental housing in Lithuania frequently encountered landlords who ended telephone calls or stopped replying once they realised that the applicant did not speak Lithuanian or was a foreigner (p. 14), who refused to conclude official tenancy agreements (p. 19), or who demanded higher rents and larger deposits than those advertised (p. 42). Unable to find suitable housing, some immigrants moved into poorly maintained or distant dwellings or stayed temporarily with acquaintances, with negative consequences for their health and social inclusion (Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2025, p. 43). Reluctance and discrimination from landlords may therefore affect immigrants' quality of life both directly and by pushing them towards more expensive, lower-quality or less secure accommodation.
Existing research provides evidence that housing affordability is associated with wellbeing. Acolin and Reina (2022), for example, found that households in 14 European countries spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing reported lower life satisfaction, and that those spending more than 50 per cent reported the lowest levels. Longitudinal evidence from the Netherlands has similarly linked unaffordable housing with poorer mental health, particularly among renters and younger people (Arundel et al., 2024, p. 44). However, much of this literature concerns populations in Western Europe, North America or Australia, and Acolin and Reina (2022) excluded Eastern European countries from their analysis because of their distinctive housing systems. Lithuania-specific evidence is limited: official estimates for non-EU citizens fluctuate considerably from year to year (Eurostat, 2026b), and immigrants' experiences of searching for rental housing have so far been documented only fragmentarily and through qualitative research (Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2025, pp. 6–7).
The problem is therefore not simply the availability of affordable housing, but the extent to which housing affordability, housing conditions and access to rental housing, including experiences of reluctance or discrimination from landlords, affect the quality of life of immigrants in Lithuania. Without quantitative evidence on these relationships, it is difficult to determine how far housing contributes to differences in immigrants' life satisfaction, financial wellbeing, living conditions and overall wellbeing, or to design housing and integration policies accordingly. This study therefore seeks to address this gap by administering a structured, closed-ended questionnaire to immigrants residing in Lithuania in order to measure housing costs relative to income, perceived housing affordability, housing conditions, access to rental housing and experiences of landlord reluctance or discrimination, and to examine whether these factors are significantly associated with their quality of life.
1.2 Research Questions
Based on the research problem and the objectives of the study, the following research questions were developed to guide the investigation of the relationship between housing affordability and quality of life among immigrants in Lithuania.
The main research question is:
What is the impact of housing affordability on the quality of life of immigrants in Lithuania?
To address the main research question, the study will examine the following specific research questions:
- What is the level of objective housing affordability, measured as the ratio of housing costs to household income, and of perceived housing affordability among immigrants in Lithuania?
- What are the housing conditions of immigrants in Lithuania, including overcrowding, the physical quality of the dwelling and security of tenure?
- To what extent do immigrants encounter barriers in accessing rental housing in Lithuania, including reluctance or discrimination from landlords?
- How are the housing cost-to-income ratio and perceived housing affordability associated with immigrants' life satisfaction, financial wellbeing, satisfaction with living conditions and overall wellbeing?
- To what extent are housing conditions and experiences of reluctance or discrimination from landlords associated with these quality-of-life indicators, after controlling for housing affordability and socio-demographic characteristics?
Sub-questions 1–3 are descriptive, whereas sub-questions 4 and 5 are relational and address the association between housing and quality of life. In line with the quantitative design and the literature reviewed in Section 2, the following hypotheses will be tested:
H1. Immigrants with a higher housing cost-to-income ratio and lower perceived housing affordability report lower life satisfaction, financial wellbeing and overall wellbeing.
H2. Poorer housing conditions, such as overcrowding and dwelling defects, are associated with lower satisfaction with living conditions and lower overall wellbeing.
H3. Immigrants who report reluctance or discrimination from landlords report a lower quality of life than those who do not, independently of housing affordability.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Housing Affordability and Quality of Life
Housing affordability concerns the relationship between what households must spend on housing and the incomes available to them, rather than the price of housing alone (Anacker, 2019, p. 3). It is usually operationalised as a cost-to-income ratio, with affordability stress commonly defined as housing costs above 30 per cent of income (Arundel et al., 2024, p. 53), while Eurostat's overburden rate uses 40 per cent of disposable income (Eurostat, n.d.). Perceived and actual burdens also differ: many households feel burdened by housing costs even when they spend less than 30 per cent of their income on housing (Acolin & Reina, 2022).
Unaffordable housing is associated with lower wellbeing. Across 14 European countries, Acolin and Reina (2022) found that households spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing reported lower life satisfaction, and those spending more than 50 per cent the lowest levels. Longitudinal evidence from the Netherlands links unaffordable housing with poorer mental health, particularly among renters and younger people (Arundel et al., 2024, p. 44). Housing circumstances also predict satisfaction with quality of life among both immigrant and local residents (Llopis Alvarez & Müller-Eie, 2022, p. 157).
2.2 Immigrants' Housing Outcomes and Access to Rental Housing
In the European Union, immigrants are only around half as likely as the native-born to own their home; more than one in six live in overcrowded accommodation, and around one in five pays more than 40 per cent of disposable income on rent, compared with roughly one in eight native-born residents (OECD & European Commission, 2023, p. 100). Immigrants are also more likely to live in substandard housing, at 26 per cent compared with 20 per cent of the native-born (OECD & European Commission, 2023, p. 112).
Discrimination by housing providers is a further barrier. A meta-analysis of 71 field experiments found ethnic discrimination in nearly all of them (Auspurg et al., 2019, p. 95). In Lithuania, a representative survey of 1,007 residents found that only 34 per cent would rent their dwelling to a person who does not speak Lithuanian, 29 per cent to a Black person, 22 per cent to a Muslim and 46 per cent to a Ukrainian (Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2024, pp. 2, 25). A qualitative study of 144 non-EU nationals found that refusals often followed as soon as landlords realised that an applicant was a foreigner and that most of those affected did not report discrimination (Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2025, pp. 7, 14, 42); housing difficulties led to frequent moves, health problems and a feeling of not being welcome (Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2025, p. 43).
2.3 The Lithuanian Context
Housing prices in Lithuanian cities increased between two- and tenfold over the last two decades, and housing affordability, together with unemployment, explains most of the variation in internal migration to the largest cities (Laurinavičius et al., 2021, p. 102). By 2025 Eurostat's house price index for Lithuania stood at 258.1 (2015 = 100), compared with 161.9 for the European Union (Eurostat, 2026a). Meanwhile, by 31 December 2025, 217,067 foreigners, 7.5 per cent of the population, lived in Lithuania (Migration Department, 2026). Eurostat estimates for 2023 indicate that 23.2 per cent of adult non-EU citizens in Lithuania were overburdened by housing costs and 35.1 per cent lived in overcrowded dwellings, compared with 4.9 and 22.4 per cent of Lithuanian nationals, although these estimates fluctuate considerably from year to year (Eurostat, 2026b, 2026c).
2.4 Conceptual Framework and Research Gap
The study therefore treats housing affordability, housing conditions and access to rental housing as determinants of immigrants' quality of life. Affordability is captured by the housing cost-to-income ratio and by perceived affordability (Acolin & Reina, 2022). Housing conditions and experiences of landlord reluctance or discrimination are expected to affect quality of life both directly and by confining immigrants to more expensive or poorer-quality housing (Auspurg et al., 2019; Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2025). Quality of life is measured through life satisfaction, financial wellbeing, satisfaction with living conditions and overall wellbeing.
Three gaps motivate the study: cross-national evidence has excluded Eastern European countries (Acolin & Reina, 2022); statistics for non-EU citizens in Lithuania are volatile and unlinked to quality of life (Eurostat, 2026b, 2026c); and immigrants' rental-market experiences in Lithuania have been documented only fragmentarily and qualitatively (Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, 2025, pp. 6–7). The present study addresses these gaps quantitatively.
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