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Making ”Affordable Housing” AffordableNordic Benchmarking Forum, Korjaamo

Juha Kaakinen 16.6.2016

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Y-Foundation is• A non-profit social housing provider

• Builds and constructs affordable rental housing • Owns 16 404 flats in 55 cities and municipalities• (at the beginning of 2016 we purchased 8 631 flats from another social housing

provider)

• The staff of 116 employees is mainly based in Helsinki, 20 employees in 6 other cities

• Nationwide work is enabled by a wide network of partners: local authorities and housing companies, NGOs, church social work etc.

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History• Y-Foundation was founded in 1985

• Founding bodies:• Five largest cities: Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere and Turku• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland• Finnish Red Cross• The Finnish Association for Mental Health• Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities• Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT • The Finnish Construction Trade Union.

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The housing options• Scattered housing

bought form owner-occupied housing companies (5 300)

• Real estates: normal rental housing (9 837)

• Supported and service housing (1 232)

• Support and services are arranged by local social services or NGOs

Suppported housing Väinölä

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M2-Kodit (M2 Homes)• State subsidised (ARA) rental apartments.

• ARA = The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland

• 10 000 rental apartments in almost 30 municipalities around Finland.

• Can be rented through M2 customer service or through partners.

• Former company name Y-Asunnot (Y Apartments). Name changed in April 2016.

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M2 – The city’s most generous squares

• M2 Homes – M2 for short – wants to be a visionary landlord by renewing the rental housing business.

• Name M2 stems from the abbreviation of the word square meter (m2)

• M2 provides the most generous square meters in the city, in the proximity of local services.

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What’s affordable? - Tenant’s perspective

• Pay less / lower rent• Get more with what

you pay/ more services and better facilities

• Get more incomes/ housing and work opportunities

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What’s affordable?- Social housing landlord´s perspective

• Lower quality of housing• Better financing /production

support• Costs:• Land• Construction /materials, work• Process• Maintenance costs

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Making ”affordable” housing affordable

• Definition:• You have money left for living

after rent• 85 % of applicants: income less

than 2 500 €

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M2 Concept

• Created with Demos Helsinki• Uuras, Inno and Koto• Inno: ”Your home is more/bigger

than your own apartment”• Koto: ”Home where it is easy to

come”• Uuras: ”Best combination of home

and work”

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Uuras concept• M2: a visionary landlord by

supporting work opportunities. • The world’s smallest fair of new

working methods / Maailman pienimmät uuden työn messut in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki 31st of May

• Uuras hoffice: • a free, temporary working space for

everybody • Open from 24th of May until 23rd of June

at 10-18 o’clock.• Located in Juutinraumankatu 10,

Jätkäsaari

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Uuras concept (future)

• Researches how a landlord can be a link between people and changing working life

• Cleaning group• ”Work caretaker”

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Final comments• 16 000 tenants• A community of practice• Huge human potential• - capabilities approach (Nussbaum)• - building resilient, sustainable

communities• ”all-inclusive” affordable social

housing as a normal, ordinary housing solution

• A question of human dignity