The Austrian model of housing for the common good (officially known as limited-profit housing associations, or LPHAs) enjoys a very high profile in other countries and is about much more than just creating affordable housing. The successful business model allows climate-friendly and architecturally sophisticated buildings that meet the needs of the market to be built for low- and medium-income households. As part of a study by the Institute for Real Estate, Construction, and Housing GmbH (IIBW), it was examined how the Austrian model can be transferred to other countries, focusing on the rebuilding process in Ukraine.1 The results of the analyses are forming Austria’s contribution to the New European Bauhaus’s “Rebuild Ukraine” initiative.2
If it is to be able to be successfully rebuilt, Ukraine will have to become an attractive place for its own citizens – especially young people – to live. The Russian war of aggression has caused huge amounts of damage, with 1.4 million homes having been destroyed or damaged so far, particularly in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kyiv and Mykolaiv oblasts. However, the shortcomings in the housing sector pre-date the war: an ageing stock of residential buildings, hardly any regulation on the rental market, little social housing and a lack of legal provisions for renovation work.
Drawing inspiration from the Austrian model
The Austrian system of common good housing scores impressively highly in terms of quantity, quality, financing and sustainability. The non-profits have built around a million residential units over the past few decades, equating to 25 per cent of the country’s entire housing stock. The volume of newbuilds has held steady at 15,000–20,000 units per year. LPHA homes re-present very good value for money, effective renovation projects and social and environmental sustainability.
General legal framework
The legal framework and underlying conditions, which are highly complex and – in some cases – very different, mean that the Austrian system cannot be applied to other countries just like that. This was why a legally minded approach was chosen for the study in order to isolate the key tenets of the successful model. To this end, Austria’s voluminous Limited Profit Housing Act (Wohnungsgemeinnützigkeitsgesetz, WGG) was condensed to just 18 paragraphs on a few pages. The result is a straightforward model draft law that other countries can take and incorporate into their own legal system.
Opportunities for implementation
Organised by the EIB and IOM3 with support from the IIBW, an international workshop was held in Vienna in 2024 to discuss affordable housing in Ukraine, where the draft “Law on Common Good Housing” was unveiled. Both at this event and at others in Brussels and Lviv, it became clear that there was great interest on the Ukrainian side – especially from its cities and regions – to carry on down the path that had been outlined.
klimaneutralestadt.at/de/publikationen/schriftenreihe-2024-12-housing-common-good-ukraine.php
1 Study: Housing for the Common Good: Sustainable Governance from European Best Practice for Recovery in Ukraine
klimaneutralestadt.at/resources/pdf/schriftenreihe-2024-12-neb-common-good-housing-report.pdf
Both the draft “Law on Common Good Housing” and the study are available in English and Ukrainian.
2 new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/inspiring-projects-and-ideas/actions-ukraine_en#:~:text=Objective%3A%20to%20contribute%20to%20the,construction%20methods%20using%20Ukrainian%20resources
3 European Investment Bank und IOM Ukraine – International Organisation for Migration