Danes offer to share their experience in affordable housing with Ukraine

The Ukrainian Homes for All An association has been established in Denmark to develop a housing concept and create affordable, rental housing in Ukraine inspired by the widespread non-profit Danish housing model.

The main principle of the non-profit housing development in Denmark is accessibility, regardless of income, social status, or age. The non-profit foundation and the administrational housing organizations provide homes to 1/6 of the Danish population at low cost to those in need.

The non-profit system, with stable rental level, is upheld in close cooperation with municipalities, and is accessible for all citizens through open waiting list registration. They are also responsible for assessing the need for new construction, which also makes non-profit housing part of local development.

All income from housing rents, which are regulated and significantly lower than market rents, are used for shared building maintenance and reinvested in new build within the system. Residents play a key role in decision-making and influencing living conditions, joint housing maintenance and further development, including circular economy principles.

In this way, in addition to inclusion and support for democratic organizational systems, the creation of a social component in the Danish housing model is also an important tool for increasing social and environmental sustainability.

This model has been operating in Denmark for more than 100 years and has proven its efficiency. Currently, about 1 million people (one-sixth of the population) live in such non-profit housing, in more than 500,000 homes located throughout the country in all Danish municipalities.

The initiative to share the experience with Ukraine and Ukrainians whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the war belongs to a group of professionals, from architects to lawyers and former politicians, who want to contribute and create an organizational framework for the construction of affordable housing so urgently needed by Ukrainian cities.

Among them are partner and attorney at SIRIUS Advokater Kurt Elles Bardeleben, senior architect at Henning Larsen Architects/Rambøll Katja Waagepetersen, former mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen, CEO of KAB Jens Elmelund, CEO of the Danish Federation of Nonprofit Housing / BL Bent Madsen, Director of the Danish Foreign Policy Society Charlotte Flindt Pedersen, former Minister and Director of Cryos International Jakob Axel Nielsen, CEO of Realdania Jesper Nygaard, CEO of the Affordable Housing Foundation and Kuben Byg Line Retting Dornan, who founded the Ukrainian Homes For All Association.

"The war in Ukraine is a tragedy with huge human losses and destruction. However, as the country recovers, there is an opportunity to build better than before for the benefit of the people of Ukraine. For example, to create a more socially and economically sustainable rental housing market, where there is room for all segments of the population. And where rental income is used to make housing even more affordable. We would like to contribute to this by sharing the experience we have in the non-profit housing sector in Denmark," says Bent Madsen, CEO of the Danish Federation of Nonprofit Housing / BL.

The organizers have been working on the initiative since 2023. This includes working with the cities engaged in rebuilding and adjusting the Danish model to Ukrainian realities by helping meet the urgent needs for new housing in accordance with the European requirements and sustainability.

The project is currently in dialog with the local authorities in Ukraine. The first phase focuses on developing the concept, and the legal and organizational structure. Next, it is planned to build three pilot projects together with the Ukrainian partners.