Housing cooperatives and the contradictions of Finnish land and housing policies

The article titled "Housing cooperatives and the contradictions of Finnish land and housing policies," published in the International Journal of Housing Policy, examines the challenges faced by housing cooperatives in Finland amidst rising housing unaffordability and insecurity. Authored by Daisy Charlesworth and Mika Hyötyläinen, the article provides insights into three Finnish housing cooperatives that are part of a state-subsidized pilot study initiated in 2016. The study reveals significant institutional ambiguities within Finnish land and housing policies that hinder the development of a new ‘social’ housing cooperative model.

Finland is experiencing a resurgence of interest in housing cooperatives as a response to growing housing unaffordability in the private sector and a retrenching social housing sector. Many residents find themselves unable to afford market rents yet do not qualify for means-tested social housing. The Finnish central state has thus explored housing cooperatives as a viable alternative for those who do not meet the restrictive criteria for social rental housing but struggle to find affordable options in the private market.

The paper identifies three overarching ambiguities in Finnish land and housing policy that impede the growth of housing cooperatives. Firstly, despite receiving government support, housing cooperatives often do not fit neatly into existing social housing frameworks, which complicates their classification and access to necessary resources. Secondly, there is skepticism regarding their long-term affordability due to temporally-restricted regulatory instruments. Lastly, the City of Helsinki’s entrepreneurial real estate policy restricts leasing land at market rates to housing cooperatives, thereby limiting their operational viability.

The research is based on a document study and interviews with stakeholders involved in three specific housing cooperative projects engaged in negotiations with the City of Helsinki for land plots. The authors employed thematic analysis to uncover institutional tensions affecting the cooperatives’ development.

The findings reveal that housing cooperatives in Finland are often perceived as "not social enough" because their internal regulations regarding accessibility are not mandated by the state. This creates ambiguity around their classification as social housing, particularly in light of EU state-aid regulations. Furthermore, the cooperatives are not seen as "long term" solutions for affordability, as market dynamics could shift once state loans are repaid. The issue of profitability also emerges, as the City of Helsinki prioritizes land use that maximizes rent, which conflicts with the cooperatives’ objectives of providing affordable housing.

The article emphasizes the need for a clearer and more supportive institutional framework to facilitate the development of housing cooperatives in Finland. It suggests future research should focus on the complex interplay between housing, welfare, and land-use policies across different governmental scales to better understand the public-cooperative nexus in various European contexts. The insights garnered from this study contribute to the broader discourse on sustainable housing solutions in Europe.