Cooperative Housing Fund to Enable Financing of Housing Cooperatives

Housing cooperatives and other forms of cooperative living offer people opportunities to realize a shared housing wish together with other residents. This not only creates affordable homes but also strong and engaged communities. Cooperative living contributes to affordable housing, neighborhood livability, and care for each other. This approach should make it easier for these initiatives to get off the ground.”

- Minister Mona Keijzer

In October 2025, €60.6 million was allocated to the Dutch Housing Stimulus Fund (SVn) for the establishment of the Cooperative Housing Fund. SVn was selected based on a subsidy tender launched in February 2025. Among others, housing cooperatives, housing associations, and cooperative initiatives in Collective Private Commissioning (CPO) can apply for financing at the fund. To help initiatives find their way to the fund, the online platform Crowdbuilding received a subsidy to set up a financing desk.

The fund finances from the planning phase for initiatives that have a location and municipal approval. It must concern projects to realize a shared housing wish developed by residents themselves or in co-commissioning. The focus is on projects of 12 to 100 homes that create new affordable housing for people with a middle income (up to twice the modal income). For rental projects, construction can also be financed. Thus, the Fund contributes to realizing mid-rent homes. A minimum own contribution of 5% is required for both rental and purchase projects.

The fund makes financing cooperative housing initiatives more feasible. A major challenge remains finding suitable locations. Municipalities can play an important role here, for example by reserving space for cooperative housing in zoning plans and making it a fixed part of their policy.

Together with Cooplink, Platform31, RVO, and local parties such as Derde Bouwstroom, the minister wants to encourage municipalities to better utilize opportunities for cooperative housing. Work is also underway to improve information provision, including on legal and fiscal questions. By better supporting municipalities and initiators, cooperative housing projects can start faster and with more certainty.