Wohnungsgenossenschaft Selbsthilfe Linden eG is a housing cooperative based in Hannover, Germany. It was formed in September 1982 by people active in the Linden-Nord neighbourhood forum and registered with the Hannover register court in March 1983. Its founding purpose was to provide affordable housing for lower-income residents of Linden and to involve residents in creating and managing their homes.2
The cooperative grew out of local opposition to demolition-led urban renewal. Its early projects in Linden-Süd and Linden-Nord used residents’ own labour and public urban-renewal funding to preserve buildings and make their homes available on affordable terms.2 From 1984 to 2002, members helped modernise 18 buildings containing 120 apartments; the cooperative also acquired housing from the City of Hannover and built three apartment blocks in the 1990s, including a project with a kindergarten.2
Its stated principles include reinvesting surpluses, maintaining socially secure housing at affordable rents, residents’ participation in apartment planning, equal voting rights for members and secure long-term tenancy. It also emphasises neighbourhood ties and enabling people to remain in Linden. Its work is locally focused on Hannover’s Linden neighbourhoods. The cooperative’s history page reports that in 2023 it had 53 buildings, 376 apartments, 19 commercial units and 420 members.2
The office is at Deisterstrasse 69 in Hannover. The cooperative’s listed board includes Alena Grimmer, Heiner Rüschenschmidt and Ilka Stummeyer.911