Hausprojekt Willy*Fred is a self‑managed housing project in the centre of Linz, Austria, created to remove a residential building from real estate speculation and to provide stable, collectively governed rental housing.123 In 2015, a group of young Linz residents initiated the project in response to rising housing costs, organising a campaign that led to the purchase of a house on Graben 3 in the inner city for around €3 million on 21 December 2015.123
The project is structured around a combination of a Willy-Fred GmbH and a house association (Hausverein WillyFred), with the building held in collective ownership and managed by its tenants.610 WillyFred is the pioneer project of the Austrian habiTAT syndicate, a solidarity-based umbrella organisation of self‑managed rental house projects; habiTAT holds a minority share to secure the building against resale, while the residents’ entity holds the majority.2810 The house provides approximately 1,600 m² of residential and workspace, hosting around 30 residents and several non-profit associations and initiatives.24
Financing relies heavily on direct micro‑credits and crowdinvesting: more than 180–250 individuals have provided subordinated loans, forming the equity base that made bank financing possible and keeping the project independent from conventional real estate investors.1310 Willy*Fred continues to run public campaigns to attract new direct-credit supporters and maintains a waiting list for prospective residents, emphasising long-term affordability, collective decision-making, and the permanent withdrawal of the property from the speculative housing market.1310