How can your municipality promote collective building and living?

Collective building offers many benefits, but it is not easy. That is why the municipality of Oldebroek participated in the first mini-learning line. We organised this together with the Housing Expert Team of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

The mini-learning line helps municipalities get started

The learning line was specifically developed for municipalities that want to get started with collective living and building. This helps citizens and government to build neighbourhoods together instead of just houses. In the autumn of 2025, the second mini-learning line started in Gelderland, with the final meeting on Friday, 6 March 2026. The participants gathered in the meeting space of the Singelhof Wezep, which provided extra inspiration. After the meeting, the participants received their certificates and went home as ambassadors for collective building and living. The learning line was such a success that other provinces are now also showing interest and getting started with it.

Mutual connection

“We don’t want to build houses, we want to build communities,” says Beerd Flier, alderman of the municipality of Oldebroek. “That community and mutual connection are so important, especially in light of ageing, care and loneliness. Initiatives like Singelhof Wezep score excellently on these points. That is why we, as a municipality, invest a lot of time in collective building.”

Collective building in Oldebroek

The municipality of Oldebroek regularly makes locations available for collective housing initiatives. This was a good reason for the municipality to participate in the first edition of the mini-learning line in 2023. The mini-learning line covers the new guide to collective building and living in five Friday mornings. It explains how you, as a municipality, can create space for this type of initiative. You gain knowledge, receive tools and learn about the benefits of collective building: socially, financially and for the environment.

Awareness and policy

Beerd Flier is very pleased with Oldebroek’s commitment. He explains that, during the past council period, agreements were made about Collective Private Commissioning (CPO) in the Council Implementation Programme (CUP). “If you mention something in the CUP, everyone within the municipality knows: this is important, I am allowed to spend time on this. This also creates awareness, so that we think about CPO in time when there is a location available. We also have policy for collective self-building. For me, it is not about the number of homes added through collective building, but about what you contribute to society. That is why, over the past 10 years, we have issued six permits. All six initiatives received a process subsidy from the province* and, for the latest project, we involved the Housing Expert Team for tailor-made advice during the information evening. The location you assign is very important. It must be suitable and there must not be too much pressure to realise it quickly, because these processes are not easy to navigate.”

Support for initiators

“Every process is different,” says the alderman. “To help initiators, we organise information evenings. This brings interested parties to the town hall and allows you to set expectations. What are you getting into? Piet van Pelt from Singelhof Wezep also shared his story. We also support initiators by providing a single point of contact, so they always know who to turn to. We set this up about two years ago. Before that, questions bounced from department to department within the municipality.”

A great example: senior homes in Wezep

Piet van Pelt and his wife lived in a large house with a beautiful garden. Nice, of course, but as they got older, they felt they were occupying a family home. This led Piet to come up with the idea of building a senior neighbourhood: the Singelhof Wezep. Six months ago, the homes were completed, resulting in a moving chain. The seniors who moved out made way for families, freeing up homes for starters.

Thanks to subsidies

The homes at Singelhof are beautiful and the residents are satisfied. “There is a strong social connection and people look out for each other,” Piet explains. “For errands or doctor’s visits, there is always a good neighbour available.” We started the project more than three years ago. We applied to the province and the RVO for a process subsidy to investigate the feasibility together with advisor Bijker Advies and architect Open Muur. The communal building, the Singelhuis, was also partly financed with a subsidy from the RVO, by the way. After that, we set out our ambitions. How do we shape this idea? The municipality assigned us a great location. In the period that followed, we had monthly meetings to realise our idea as quickly as possible. It was very pleasant that the municipality had so much trust in us. We met young people with ambition. We received a template for the zoning plan amendment. We were able to carry out the entire process ourselves as a team (architect, advisor and board), which allowed us to move quickly because the municipality only had to assess our plan.”

How do you set up the process?

The municipality of Wijchen also sees the added value of collective building. Although there is no policy yet, there is a lot of enthusiasm and political support. Wijchen-West is a large expansion location and the municipality now aims to offer space for five housing initiatives there. “We have a rough zoning plan with a lot of room for differentiation within it,” explains Bert Tolkamp of the municipality of Wijchen. “At the moment, the municipality is considering a step-by-step plan, inspired by the mini-learning line and the experiences of the municipality of Nijmegen. We still have some discussion: do we start with a plot map and an information meeting? Then groups can organise themselves and we can choose which plots to allocate and with what programme. Or do we start by selecting the plots, with a plot passport that fits our urban planning setup? Then housing initiatives can register for them and come up with their own ideas and plans. We will have to figure everything out as we go along.”

The ambitions of Arnhem

In Arnhem, collective building is part of the housing vision. “Collective living will only really take off if the municipality consciously creates space for it,” explains Bart van den Hoven. “In Arnhem, we are not limiting ourselves to individual initiatives. We have a broader location strategy, identifying locations in the city where collective housing initiatives have the best chance of success.” The ambition is to offer an average of two locations for collective building each year and to realise 5% collective housing forms in the new Rijnpark district. The bar is set high. “Fortunately, we already have experience and a process,” adds Heidy Wagener. “The plots we have available are listed on vastgoedplein.nl. Interested parties can respond. We start with an inspiration café where we explain collective building and living. This often leads to groups forming and exchanging numbers. Then comes the tender, where plans are presented. Like the Nel Klaassen plot in 2024. Throughout the rest of the process, there is one point of contact for any question, whether it is legal, construction-related, about water or for the province.”

Want to get started with collective building too?

Would you like to get started with collective living and building in your municipality? Visit the website of the province of Gelderland and go to the ‘Help for municipalities and housing corporations’ tab for the new guide to collective building and living. You can also always request help or tailor-made advice via the province. We will help you further or refer you to the Housing Expert Team of the central government. Send an email to and we will contact you.