Municipal housing: Best practice leading the way across Europe

On 8 June, the European Commission hosted a dynamic workshop on “Developing an efficient ecosystem for municipal housing” in collaboration with Housing Europe, the federation of social, cooperative and public housing providers. 

The workshop brought together national and local authorities, housing associations, EU policy makers, and other key stakeholders to explore the structures and strategies that shape and underpin successful municipal and community-led housing models. 

Given the scale of housing demand in many member states, innovation and breakthrough approaches are essential to delivering affordable housing solutions.  At the event, participants strove to share good practice examples that could be adapted to assist Member States in scaling up and expanding their municipal, community-led and affordable housing provision. 

Housing Europe opened the event by outlining core issues, including sustainable economic models, tools related to land planning and zoning, the role of local authorities in increasing availability of social and affordable housing and livability, and the importance of having dedicated housing providers to guarantee professionalism and continuity in the long term. 

The following session delved into critical elements that contribute to the success of municipal housing schemes, featuring case studies from among others- German, Austrian, French and Finnish municipal housing companies. 

Governance was highlighted as a key principle of strong municipal housing systems. Independence from political cycles were cited as crucial in German and Austrian examples, both attributing long-term sustainability to independent governance. 

Discussions also covered the role of public authorities, financial sustainability and access to finance via case studies from Sweden's Kommuninvest model, the Finnish Munifin financing or the German KfW lending as replicable models. 

 Afternoon discussions turned to target groups, examining eligibility, waiting list management, and strategies for social inclusion and affordability in Paris and Espoo, Finland. 

Key takeaways include the use of joint public procurement contracts as an efficient way to bring down the costs and reduce administrative burden for municipal housing companies. 

The changing nature of the profile of housing applicants in Sweden was shared with a shift from families to now single applicants, seniors and those requiring housing later in life due to changing life circumstances. In Finland, social mixing was emphasised as key to social integration.  

Residualisation was identified as the greatest threat to universal housing models. Long waiting lists, which prioritise the most vulnerable, risk turning universal systems into de facto targeted ones.  

Concluding the event, it was clear that cross-border learning is effective, but it still has an untapped potential. France, Sweden and Austria have up to 70 years' experience of developing municipal housing in the post war period.  EU-level actions can now contribute to building capacity and creating enabling conditions to empower Member States and actors such as cities as regulators, developers and enablers of innovation to expand crucial investments. Ultimately, by prioritising community needs and harnessing public resources, municipal housing models can aim to deliver housing solutions that are equitable, resilient, and economically viable. 

The European Housing Alliance, a key priority of the new European Affordable Housing Plan will work to harness housing expertise and best practice from across Europe to allow for continued sharing and mutual learning. 

Learn more and register interest in being a member of the European Housing Alliance through this  dedicated Commission webpage.