My Basket
Dr Corinna Hölzl is researcher and lecturer at the Geography Department of Humboldt University of Berlin. Trained in human geography, her research focusses on community-led housing, urban development, grassroots movements and social justice. Here she tells World Habitat about her latest research into cooperative pioneers in Central and Eastern Europe and why the approach adopted by MOBA Housing SCE has been so successful.
A few weeks ago, a new ground-breaking deal was signed with the city of Pula to help create a housing project run by the community. There’s also a new project being talked about in Krizevci, and in Zagreb, a new group has started working on cooperative housing.
This success comes from MOBA Housing SCE, a group formed to fight against expensive housing in parts of Central and Eastern Europe. MOBA started in 2017 and became an official organisation in 2020. It brings together people from Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia to build affordable homes that are owned and managed by the community.
So, how does it work? MOBA does things differently from regular housing by focusing on three things:
- Getting people involved in their own community housing projects.
- Using new ways to fund these projects.
- Working with other groups across Europe.
Local Community Involvement
At the local level, MOBA’s members work directly with the community to build homes that fit each country’s needs. Groups like Sdílené domy in Czechia and ACRED in Hungary work with people in the community to build trust and get them involved. They’ve started small projects in cities like Budapest, Prague, and Děčín, mixing self-help housing with bigger projects. These projects do more than just give people homes—they also teach people about different ways of living that aren’t about making money from housing.
Even though it’s been hard to get support from the government and public, MOBA members keep going by using their community networks and connections with other groups.
New Ways to Fund Projects
One idea from MOBA is the MOBA Accelerator, a special fund that helps start new housing projects. Since regular banks don’t always support cooperative housing, MOBA is trying to create its own way to fund projects. The Accelerator helps by getting donations, member shares, and bonds to get projects started. Later, the plan is to grow the fund to help even more projects.
MOBA is also helping to start the European Ethical Bank, which will give loans to cooperatives and small businesses in Europe that usually can’t get the money they need.
Working Across Europe
MOBA isn’t just working in one country—it’s a group that connects different countries. They share ideas, help each other out, and work together. MOBA also partners with other organisations like World Habitat and in Europe, like Mietshäuser Syndikat in Germany and Housing Europe, to bring these ideas to more places. By working together, they can raise awareness, get support, and attract money for their projects.
But it’s not always easy. Governments don’t always help, so getting these projects going can take time. However, MOBA shows that if local communities and regional networks come together and have a plan, they can make a big difference in housing—without needing the government to do it for them.
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