Tackling the Housing Crisis through Cooperatives? The Case of Hungary from the 1970s

Czirfusz, Márton and Jelinek, Csaba (2025) Tackling the Housing Crisis through Cooperatives? The Case of Hungary from the 1970s. Working Paper Series by the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna (124). University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna, Wien.

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Abstract

This paper contributes to debates on definancialisation and housing cooperativism through a case study from Hungary. It identifies five factors that determine whether housing cooperatives can function as definancialised forms of housing provision: democratic governance, enabling state regulation, favourable financing mechanisms, ideological integrity of the cooperative housing movement, and a robust institutional ecosystem. The paper examines the presence of these factors during the state-socialist expansion of housing cooperatives and reveals that housing cooperatives largely served as tools of commodification and financialisation, with limited autonomy and democratic participation. The paper then outlines the current obstacles faced by a new wave of housing cooperativism, in particular rental housing cooperatives. It argues that these initiatives can only deliver affordable housing if an appropriate regulatory framework, adequate financial support, and a larger institutional ecosystem are in place.

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