The 3rd Responsible Housing Finance Summit in Prague underlined that Europe can only deliver affordable homes with long-term support for existing and successful housing systems and real structural backing for those that are still emerging.
And while it is never all about the money, the truth is unavoidable. Financing remains an essential pillar for people exhausted by watching a disproportionate share of their income disappear into housing costs. Much like in the song, we keep finding ourselves in a world where we claim to care, yet our systems often fail to show it. The Summit was a timely reminder that if we want to stop repeating the same mistakes, we need investment frameworks that match EU values and people’s urgent need for homes they can afford.
In Prague, Housing Europe and the Czech State Fund for Investment Promotion (SFPI) brought together the public, cooperative and social housing sector, banks, diverse finance bodies, ministries, cities, and researchers to address the hurdles faced by housing providers and municipalities across the continent in accessing funding, particularly as they advance the Renovation Wave and the New European Bauhaus.
We also launched a new paper unpacking the often-misused term “private finance” in social and affordable housing. It explains why most so-called private capital in this sector is in fact channelled through publicly governed or publicly backed institutions, and how this model can be strengthened across Europe. Make sure to read it.
Marco Corradi, President of Housing Europe, opened the Summit by calling the moment “pivotal” for Europe’s housing agenda. After previous editions in Paris and Milan, he highlighted the mid-term review of Cohesion Policy, the EIB Action Plan, the negotiations for the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), and the upcoming European Commission Affordable Housing Plan as key opportunities.
“The best way to meet the growing social housing emergency is to come together, understand local needs, and align with the expectations of financiers to build partnerships that deliver sustainable housing through renovation, conversion, and new build,” he said.
With the ambition of coming together more often, Housing Europe launched the Housing Finance Working Group in 2023 to strengthen capacity across Europe and support healthy housing ecosystems capable of providing long-term, sustainable solutions.
This systemic focus was echoed by Petr Kulhánek, Czech Minister of Regional Development, who explained how national reforms are beginning to unlock more coherent investment pathways. The Czech Republic has relied not only on the Recovery and Resilience Facility but also on the State Fund, securing resources for the coming year and already planning ahead for 2027 and 2028. Demand for funding was three times higher than available resources, showing the scale of need.
Kulhánek described how spatial planning reform has accelerated project preparation and will, by 2027, make it easier for investors to deliver housing. His comments on exploring limited-profit housing companies as a new legal category aligned strongly with the call for reinvesting public value.
Matthew Baldwin, Head of the European Commission’s Housing Task Force, confirmed that the Commission will present a short, action-oriented EU Affordable Housing Plan in mid-December. Its purpose is to add European value to national reforms through a coordinated framework.
Baldwin listed several instruments that could form the backbone of a more predictable investment environment: the RRF, InvestEU and, for the first time, national and regional partnership plans that explicitly include housing. He also drew attention to the European Competitiveness Fund, Erasmus and Horizon Europe, pointing out that housing is now cutting across multiple policy areas. An expert finance group will support practitioners and work closely with Housing Europe’s own Finance Group.
Bank (left) and Matthew Baldwin, Head of the
European Commission’s Housing Task Force (right)
Coherence, long-term investment what Europe can learn from its best models
The themes of coherence and long-term investment were reinforced by Tomáš Boček, Vice-Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank. He highlighted the European Alliance for Sustainable and Innovative Social Housing, created with the EIB and Caisse des Dépôts, and with the involvement of Housing Europe’s French member, L’Union Social pour l’Habitat (USH). It has mobilised more than 3 billion euros since 2020. This partnership directly inspired the creation of the European Responsible Housing Finance Group, strengthening links between institutions and the sector.
Gunnar Muent, Chair of the European Investment Bank Group Housing Taskforce, said the bank intends to increase funding for housing by 40% and has expanded its scope to cover renovation, new construction by public, cooperative and limited-profit providers, and innovation to address rising costs. A dedicated €400 million facility will help reduce construction price pressures. But he stressed that finance alone will not solve the crisis. Europe needs well-regulated housing systems supported by broad financial instruments that can be tailored to local realities and blended with national support.
Central and Eastern Europe are moving towards long-term financing
Being in Prague with SFPI, it was impossible not to dive deeper into the future of long-term financing in Central and Eastern Europe.
Daniel Ryšávka, Director of SFPI in the Czech Republic, stressed that demand for affordable housing in his country far exceeds supply. They had €300 million in allocations, €1 billion in submitted applications, and €2 billion in project preparation. The Czech Republic is now seeking to move from short-term to long-term financing, using cost-rental schemes to keep rents below market levels. However, fragmented municipalities, often grapple with spatial planning, and limited local capacity remain major hurdles.
Črtomir Remec highlighted how combining own investment, co-investment, and market purchases enabled our member, the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia to deliver thousands of new homes. Still, scaling up is challenging: construction capacity, empty flats (20% of the total stock), and renovation needs all require more tailored support.
Karol Bielovský from Dostupny Domov in Slovakia, which recently joined our network, described how private and public investment, combined with EU funding, helped kickstart social housing projects, but bottlenecks like building permits, outdated masterplans, and the need for social services persist.
Experts underlined that sustainable housing finance is about more than money alone. Bernd Riessland, from GBV in Austria and Vice-Chair of our economic and finance committee, called for risk-sharing and advised that limited-profit housing companies step with a legal basis step in and work with the public sector. Professor Michelle Norris from University College Dublin, and writer of the #Housing2030 chapter on financing, emphasised the importance of municipal capacity and local agencies to ensure funding translates into homes on the ground. Revolving funds, she explained, provide stability through a “protected pot of money” that replenishes over time. It is crucial to avoid financialisation and support long-term affordability.
Florian Meyerhoefer, Head of International Affairs and Analysis at the CEB, underlined how important it is to work through aggregators when communities are too small or lack implementation capacity. These intermediaries allow projects to move quickly while maintaining quality and oversight. He stressed that the CEB increasingly supports partners with blended loans, combining its financing with grants, as well as with technical assistance and advisory services to ensure projects are both feasible and sustainable. Some of the most successful initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe, he noted, are those that mix social and affordable housing within the same development, making the project automatically more bankable by balancing the subsidy and loan components.
Grzegorz Gajda, from the European Investment Bank (EIB), noted that most of the Bank’s funding is concentrated in Western and Northern Europe, highlighting the need for more financial support in Central and Eastern Europe. In these contexts, funding models must be carefully adapted to local housing policies, institutional capacity, and project pipelines. He stressed the importance of creating instruments for these emerging housing systems and advised starting with a single financing mechanism, while keeping both short- and long-term perspectives in mind.
What really travels across borders in housing?
Going south, the Summit brought a reality check on what policies and practices actually travel across borders.
Countries around the Mediterranean face a familiar set of obstacles: complex bureaucracy, fragmented responsibilities, and tight public budgets. EU investment combined with long-term responsible investors could help, but only if funds are flexible, simplified and tailored to local realities.
Mar Jiménez, Commissioner for European Affairs at Barcelona City Council, warned that the financialisation of housing markets is undermining lives. “This is like a pandemic,” she said. “We need innovative solutions in stressed markets, both public and private. Having an affordable housing plan is already a gamechanger. It provides stability and a framework to put the right to housing above economic exploitation.”
Portugal offered a cautionary tale.
Sónia Barbosa, a recent member from the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IRHU), acting as an intermediary for the Resilience and Recovery funds, said they face “very slow and bureaucratic” procedures, delaying delivery. João Carvalhosa of Gebalis echoed the frustration: “Sometimes we may lose money from RRF funds not because of capacity, but because of bureaucracy. Ten projects can require up to 2,500 pages of documentation. for public procurement.” He expects that the EU Affordable Housing Plan will give providers pragmatic instruments they can use on the ground.
Speakers agreed that private investment is not the enemy if tied to the right rules and conditions.
Yannick Kirchhof from the European Association of Long-Term Investors (ELTI) highlighted France’s regulated savings scheme, Livret A, which channels state-backed, tax-free savings into social housing. “It plays a key counter-cyclical role,” he said, showing how long-term investors can direct EU funds effectively when aligned with social purpose.
Jonathan Denness of the European Commission said housing is no longer taboo in cohesion policy as it does not rely on grants only. Speaking about solutions to the housing crisis, he said we cannot rely on one-size-fits-all approaches. “Countries need specific tools to tackle housing crises, and we are encouraging member states to direct more funding to housing, especially renovation,” he insisted.
Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway of the University of Barcelona warned that even with funding, projects can fail without political alignment and local support.
Political stability, trust and community legitimacy emerged as essential foundations.
Right channels, right rules, and right hands
Europe may have money on the table, but without the right institutional foundations the impact of that investment will fall short. This was another key message echoed throughout the Summit.
Bent Madsen, Head of B.L in Denmark, reminded participants that even very advanced housing systems can be dismantled if policymakers lose sight of what works, pointing to the large-scale sale of council housing in the UK. Denmark’s Big National Building Fund, created by pooling resources so that money stays in the sector, stood out as a model built on stability and purpose. His wish for 2026 was more revolving funds that help affordable housing providers grow without relying on one-off grants.
From the European Commission, Matthew Baldwin again highlighted the growing calls from the recent EU consultation for instruments that directly tackle affordability, not just supply. Ahead of an upcoming summit of national governments, he pointed to “real momentum” to get the EU framework right. His wish for 2026 was for the EU Affordable Housing Plan to deliver more affordable homes, grounded in sound advice.
Julie Lawson, the lead writer of the #Housing2030 report, outlined five priorities for shifting Europe away from fragmented, short-term interventions and towards a coherent, mission-driven investment system. Her formula includes tying EU housing finance to permanent affordability, supporting transparent and purpose-driven institutions, and fixing State aid, fiscal and accounting rules that block public-interest investment. She called for national housing finance intermediaries that can pool borrowing, issue social and climate housing bonds, and channel EU credit lines through revolving instruments. Her wish for 2026 was stronger tools that help grow and repair affordable homes, not just fill gaps.
Michal Tesař from the Housing Investment Advisory Hub stressed the importance of political stability in Central Europe. In the Czech context, institutional uncertainty continues to block long-term investment. His wish for 2026 was simple: a government capable of delivering reforms.
Rob Rotscheid, Chair of WSW in the Netherlands, pointed to the €100 billion guarantee now on their books — a sign of both responsibility and strain. Effective finance, he argued, depends on regulators who understand the consequences of their rules. With clearer frameworks, simplification and standardisation, providers could redirect budgets away from consultants and towards delivering homes.
Prague showed that funding alone will not solve Europe’s housing crisis.
Investment must reach non-speculative hands, be supported by simpler procedures, pragmatic instruments, strong local capacity and long-term models that do not disappear after a decade. Only then can Europe’s diverse housing systems turn investment into lasting, affordable homes.
The 2026 edition of our Responsible Housing Finance Summit will take place in Hungary. Stay updated with our newsletter on the details.
