In a collaborative effort between MR Community Housing Fund Non-Profit Ltd. and the Metropolitan Research Institute, the inaugural Housing Professional Forum convened on February 27-28, 2024.
The forum attracted participation from local governments of Hungarian cities, municipalities from the capital’s districts, and experts from Hungarian housing NGOs. The first day of the conference delved into Hungarian programs through three comprehensive sessions, while the second day focused on international experiences. Edit Lakatos, Senior Policy Officer at Housing Europe, shared insights from Housing Europe’s members in Czechia, Finland, and the Netherlands on how municipalities can form alliances to advocate for social housing interests at national and EU levels. Success stories from EIB programs in Mannheim, Ireland, Szczecin, and Poznań, as well as discussions on Bratislava’s plans and energy efficiency initiatives supported by Habitat for Humanity, were also featured.
The main aim of the event was to facilitate the exchange of professional experiences regarding various social and affordable housing programs in Hungary. Key objectives included showcasing the diverse financial support required for different target groups, such as the homeless, families in substandard housing, and public sector key-workers, as well as introducing funding schemes available through European Programs like the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Investment Bank.
Guest speakers included representatives from the European Investment Bank (Kamil Dörfler), Housing Europe (Edit Lakatos), and Habitat for Humanity International (György Sümeghy). Additionally, a housing expert team from Bratislava Municipality, led by Juraj Mach, participated to seek solutions for similar housing challenges. Separate meetings were held to facilitate exchanges between Hungarian counterparts and the visiting experts.
A key takeaway for Hungarian participants was the importance of developing a comprehensive public framework, both legal and financial, to effectively implement innovative small-scale housing schemes.
Background
Over the past ten years, Hungary has seen a number of innovative experiments to provide social and affordable housing for families who could not find a solution in the open housing market or could only do so at great cost. These experiments, although they had common features, used unique solutions. Since affordable and sustainable housing is an issue that affects a wide range of society and is perhaps one of the most important challenges of recent decades, the organisers considered it important that these experiments should be disseminated more widely and that good practices and sustainable developments should take their place in the common professional thinking and planning on housing.
It is the Forum’s intention that this kind of professional cooperation will continue in the future on a regular and continuous joint professional platform.
