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Programs and Partners

Eastern Europe


Programs and Partners

 

Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia  

 

The rapid privatization of housing stock after the three Baltic countries regained their independence from the former Soviet Union led to many challenges. Housing stock has been deteriorating due to lack of maintenance and there is little affordable housing.

 

In Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, Canadian experience provided by Rooftops Canada helped develop the first municipal housing policy in the Baltics. Work in both Lithuania and Latvia assisted with the set-up of emerging homeowners’ associations and cooperatives posed to address housing policy issues as well as immediate needs in the buildings. These efforts built on Canadian and regional partnerships with the Estonian Union of Housing Co-operatives, a national organization that supports new housing co-ops with membership development and training. The Estonian Union is now an active member of the International Cooperative Alliance Housing Committee – an important global platform for housing issues.