2024
Zsuzsanna Pósfai, Csaba Jelinek, Mara Ferreri, and others
The document discusses a conversation between Zsuzsanna Pósfai, Csaba Jelinek, and Mara Ferreri regarding affordable rental and cooperative housing in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Highlighting a 'super' homeownership model that dominates the region, the authors note that over 90% of housing stock is owner-occupied, limiting options for many households. Surveys reveal a significant demand for alternative housing models, yet financial barriers persist due to inadequate housing finance products. MOBA Housing SCE proposes a quasi-revolving fund to support local projects, emphasizing international collaboration and collective ownership. The document also addresses challenges like lack of financing and regulatory frameworks while advocating for the legal recognition of nonprofit providers. It concludes with plans for the "MOBA Accelerator," aiming to provide bridge loans and attract resources from cooperative networks, ultimately promoting innovative solutions to the region's housing crisis.
The document titled "Rethinking needs and financing for affordable rental and cooperative housing in Central and South-Eastern Europe" is a conversation between Zsuzsanna Pósfai and Csaba Jelinek from the Periféria Policy and Research Center, MOBA Housing SCE, and Mara Ferreri from the Polytechnic University of Turin, published in the Radical Housing Journal in January 2024. The discussion centers around a research project conducted in 2022 across eight Central and South-Eastern European (CSEE) countries, focusing on how catalytic capital investment can facilitate affordable rental and cooperative housing in the region.
Key Findings
- Housing Market Challenges: The CSEE region is characterized by a 'super' homeownership model, with over 90% of housing stock being owner-occupied. This model limits flexibility and fails to meet the needs of many households, particularly those unable to afford homeownership.
- Demand for Alternative Housing: Surveys conducted in four capital cities (Budapest, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb) revealed that more than half of the population desires changes in their housing situation. Between 13% and 26% expressed openness to affordable rental and cooperative housing models.
- Financial Barriers: Current housing finance products are inadequate for supporting alternative housing models. They predominantly focus on individual mortgages, which are inaccessible to many social groups. There is a need for new financial instruments tailored for nonprofit affordable housing providers.
- MOBA's Approach: MOBA Housing SCE aims to address these issues by creating a bottom-up quasi-revolving fund to support local projects in their early phases. This fund would act as catalytic capital to bridge the gap until traditional lenders can provide more suitable financial products.
- Internationalism and Cooperativism: MOBA emphasizes international collaboration and draws from state socialist traditions of cooperativism while adapting them to contemporary contexts. It promotes collective ownership models that are anti-speculative and prioritize affordability.
- Challenges and Opportunities: The main challenges identified include lack of access to adequate financing, insufficient regulatory frameworks, and limited organizational capacities. MOBA advocates for legal recognition of nonprofit affordable housing providers to facilitate public support.
- Future Directions: MOBA is developing the "MOBA Accelerator," a transnational revolving fund designed to provide bridge loans for project development. This initiative seeks to attract international solidarity and resources from larger cooperative networks.
Context
The research was conducted against the backdrop of increasing housing inequalities and crises in the CSEE region, exacerbated by an energy crisis and high inflation rates in 2022. The study highlights the need for diversification of housing tenure forms beyond individual homeownership to include rental and cooperative models.
Authors
- Zsuzsanna Pósfai: An initiator of Periféria Center and MOBA, with a background in housing activism, urban policy making, and academia.
- Csaba Jelinek: An urban sociologist focused on urban regeneration and housing policy, currently researching the historical sociology of housing cooperatives in Hungary.
- Mara Ferreri: A member of the Radical Housing Journal team from the Polytechnic University of Turin.
Overall, the document presents a comprehensive analysis of the potential for alternative housing models in Central and South-Eastern Europe, emphasizing the need for innovative financial solutions and international cooperation to address systemic challenges in the region's housing markets.