The European Commission launched a Public Consultation for the European Affordable Housing Plan in July (until 17 October), and we submitted our contribution, hopeful that the European Commission will use this historic opportunity to prioritise support for existing solutions that address the root causes of the varying manifestations of the housing crisis.
For cooperative and other community-led housing models to become a systemic solution, we need:
- Legal recognition and regulatory reform – Updating cooperative laws, land-use regulations, and housing finance frameworks to explicitly accommodate non-profit and cooperative housing models (as seen in Croatia’s National Housing Policy Plan until 2030).
- Access to land – Establishing long-term lease mechanisms or public land disposition programs that allow cooperative projects to develop without prohibitive upfront costs. (As seen in Vienna and Barcelona)
- Targeted financial instruments – Creating and encouraging establishment of public-private blended finance tools, revolving funds, and loan guarantees tailored to cooperative housing, thereby reducing investment risk and unlocking capital from ethical banks, impact investors, and development banks.
- Dedicated funding and incentives – Allocating EU structural and recovery funds (ESF+, ERDF, InvestEU, Social Climate Fund) and national subsidies for cooperative and community-led housing initiatives, including green renovation and energy-efficient construction.
- Municipal partnerships – Encouraging city-level programs that integrate cooperatives into urban development strategies through technical assistance, zoning flexibility, and partnerships that reserve units for key workers and vulnerable groups.
Read the full text of our regionally-focused policy recommendations, as well as our joint policy brief from the European Alliance for Collaborative Housing: