Good Practice Webinar on rural housing
This Good Practice Webinar, organised by the Rural Pact Support Office, explored the unique housing challenges that rural areas are facing. It showcased inspiring policies, strategies, initiatives, and community-led projects that improve affordability and availability, attract new residents, and promote renovation efforts contributing to the green transition in rural areas.
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Organised by Rural Pact
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- CET
- English
- European Union
- Online
Image by TPopova on Canva
Objectives
- Exchange on and learn from national, regional and local experiences and initiatives that promote investment, support sustainable housing practices, and access to housing in rural areas;
- Build participants’ capacity to develop and implement effective local/regional housing strategies and projects that address rural needs, while balancing the demands of tourism and second-home ownership;
- Encourage and mobilise the Rural Pact Community and relevant stakeholders to take actions that enhance housing affordability, availability, and sustainability in rural areas, such as fostering partnerships, securing funding opportunities, and initiating community-led housing projects.
Videos
- Welcome and introduction to the day
- Setting the scene: EU initiatives to support rural housing, challenges and opportunities
- Developing integrated rural housing strategies
- Learning from inspirational projects and practices
- Housing renovation and revitalisation through sustainable solutions
- Improving rural housing availability and attractiveness through community platforms
- Community-led solutions for inclusive rural housing
- Reporting back from discussion groups and closing remarks
Rural housing resources shared during the webinar
Awards
- Boost for Small Municipalities (New European Bauhaus Prizes)
- Promoting innovative housing policy and practice, World Habitat Awards
- European rural development and village renewal competition
Projects and initiatives
- [HOUSE4ALL] Access to affordable and quality housing for all people (ESPON programme)
- KoDörfer (en. CoVillage), Germany
- RENOVERTY, IEECP, EU
- Municipal project for intergenerational housing and community services in Alicante, Spain, World Habitat Awards winner
- Mas Coop: an intergenerational, ecological, and solidarity-based residents’ cooperative, France, World Habitat Awards winner
- Village Renewal and Local Agenda 21, Government of Tyrol, Austria
Organisations
- Agence Nationale de l'Habitat, France
- AGALSA Local Action Group, Spain
- Carbery Housing Association, Ireland
- ADRISS Local Action Group, Spain
- RURAL VIVERE, rural development association, Spain
- Non Tox Uni Kum, Slovenia
- GEN Europe, European ecovillage network
- AlterContacts, think tank for sustainable development
- Communities Housing Trust, charity and social enterprise, Scotland, UK
- Community Land Scotland, network, Scotland, UK
- Cooperative Oasis, non-profit cooperative society of collective interest, France
Publications
- Strategy for vacancy activation (DE), Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building, Germany, 2025
- Renewable Energy production and potential in EU Rural Areas, Joint Research Centre, 2024
- A massive effort to better renovate housing (FR), National Housing Agency report, 2024
- The rural housing crisis: analytical dimensions and emblematic issues, Stefan Kordel and Matthias Naumann, 2023
- 360º Guide for sustainable cities: how to achieve transformation successfully (ES), Salamanca University report, 2023
Background
Adequate rural housing is essential to attract and retain population, and foster vibrant rural communities. However, challenges persist, including affordability, availability, housing modernisation to meet evolving population needs and energy efficiency.
The European Commission has prioritised housing, as reflected in President von der Leyen’s Europe’s Choice: Political Guidelines for the Next European Commission 2024−2029 (18 July 2024) and the appointment of Dan Jørgensen as the first-ever Commissioner for Housing.
As outlined in the mission letter for the Commissioner, measures include: increasing Cohesion Policy investments in affordable housing; revising state aid rules; rolling out the Social Climate Fund to support energy-efficient housing renovations; and establishing a dedicated taskforce within DG ENER to coordinate housing initiatives. Integrating sustainability, inclusion, and innovation through the New European Bauhaus (NEB) is central to these efforts.
Programme
Agenda
(PDF – 150.02 Ko)
Additional info
Organiser
Rural Pact Support Office
Other
Resources
Presentations
Event objectives and agenda, Patricia Martínez, Rural Pact Support Office
(PDF – 1.1 Mo)
Setting the scene on the LTVRA: the Rural Pact and the place of housing in the rural vision, Haude Blanc, European Commission, DG AGRI
(PDF – 815.33 Ko)
European Commission housing taskforce, Matthew Baldwin, European Commission, DG ENER
(PDF – 207.49 Ko)
Housing and energy efficiency in EU rural areas, Clara Hormigos Feliu, Joint Research Centre
(PDF – 1.68 Mo)
The New European Bauhaus: opportunities for rural housing, Laura Hagemann Arellano, Joint Research Centre
(PDF – 2.56 Mo)
Insights from ESPON HOUSE4ALL: Addressing affordable and quality housing challenges in rural areas, Martin Gauk, ESPON European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
(PDF – 1.23 Mo)
Public support for housing in France: a focus on rural areas, Alexandre Huet, Agence Nationale de l'Habitat, France
(PDF – 3.14 Mo)
Integrated Village Renewal: strategic approaches to rural housing and heritage in Tyrol, Diana Ortner and Hannes Lechner, Government of Tyrol, Austria
(PDF – 2.93 Mo)
Sierra de la Demanda Housing Plan, Débora Serrano, LAG AGALSA, Spain
(PDF – 2.61 Mo)
KoDörfer (Co-Villages): a sustainable approach to rural revitalisation, Frederik Fischer, Neulandia, Germany
(PDF – 2.33 Mo)
Renovation and revitalisation of rural social housing in County Cork, José Ospina and Ana Ospina, Carbery Housing Association, Ireland
(PDF – 2.04 Mo)
Villagehouse project: Unlocking vacant houses for rural revitalisation in Spain, Ángel Poveda, ADRISS, Spain
(PDF – 1.21 Mo)
The RENOVERTY project, Mara Oprea, IEECP
(PDF – 1.16 Mo)
Non Tox Uni Kum, Petra Marinko, architect, advisor of the New European Bauhaus
(PDF – 14.36 Mo)
Community-led housing, Louise Winterburn, World Habitat
(PDF – 656.92 Ko)
Living together, Annegret Haider, einszuein - World Habitat
(PDF – 7.86 Mo)
Next steps, Pascale Van Doren, Rural Pact Support Office
(PDF – 598.03 Ko)