Cooperatives in Eastern Europe

Cooperatives belong to the ideal UNESCO world cultural heritage. In Germany, part of the housing market has long been organized as cooperatives. Cooperatives have a long tradition in the countries of Eastern Europe, too – but the word has negative connotations in many places: a result also of the specific practice and interpretation during Soviet times. Ownership has been a high priority since the transfer of dwellings to their former tenants in the 1990s – even though the maintenance of buildings today is a financial burden for the residents, which older and low-income residents can hardly bear. In most Eastern European countries, the privatization wave has led to deformed housing markets with ownership rates of up to 97 percent. There is a lack of alternatives to home ownership: Rental housing is rare, usually overpriced and part of a ‘grey’ market. Cooperative housing and construction can be a way to address the high demand for affordable housing in Eastern Europe and to diversify the housing markets.

In order to make cooperatives more popular on the ground, positive examples and experiences are needed. In 2018 and 2019, annual conferences took place in Ukraine. International experts and representatives of the cooperative system met there to exchange insights and ideas. The symposium is organised by IWO, Cooperative Housing International CHI and other partners and shall be continued. Cooperatives may also offer development opportunities for the housing markets in the Baltic States with their low renovation and high ownership rates. In Latvia, IWO has been leading a pilot project for the construction of an apartment building (wood hybrid construction) using the cooperative model since 2020.

IWO will further strengthen its commitment in this area.