Y-Foundation is a non-profit social housing provider in Finland that owns over 16,000 affordable rental apartments. It was founded in 1985 by several large cities and organizations to provide affordable housing options. Y-Foundation operates apartments in scattered housing, real estate properties, and supported housing units. It also operates over 10,000 state-subsidized rental apartments under the brand M2 Homes. M2 Homes aims to provide tenants with generous living spaces near services at affordable rents. Y-Foundation works to make housing affordable from both the tenant and landlord perspective by keeping rents low while controlling costs through things like land acquisition and construction materials.

1. 1
Making ”Affordable Housing” Affordable
Nordic Benchmarking Forum, Korjaamo
Juha Kaakinen 16.6.2016

2. 2
Y-Foundation is
• A non-profit social housing provider
• Builds and constructs affordable rental housing
• Owns 16 404 flats in 55 cities and municipalities
• (at the beginning of 2016 we purchased 8 631 flats from another
social housing provider)
• The staff of 116 employees is mainly based in Helsinki, 20
employees in 6 other cities
• Nationwide work is enabled by a wide network of partners: local
authorities and housing companies, NGOs, church social work etc.

3. 3
History
• Y-Foundation was founded in 1985
• Founding bodies:
• Five largest cities: Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere and Turku
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
• Finnish Red Cross
• The Finnish Association for Mental Health
• Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities
• Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT
• The Finnish Construction Trade Union.

4. 4
The housing options
• Scattered housing
bought form owner-
occupied housing
companies (5 300)
• Real estates: normal
rental housing (9 837)
• Supported and service
housing (1 232)
• Support and services
are arranged by local
social services or
NGOs
Suppported housing
Väinölä

5. 5
M2-Kodit (M2 Homes)
• State subsidised (ARA) rental apartments.
• ARA = The Housing Finance and Development
Centre of Finland
• 10 000 rental apartments in almost 30
municipalities around Finland.
• Can be rented through M2 customer
service or through partners.
• Former company name Y-Asunnot (Y
Apartments). Name changed in April 2016.

6. 6
M2
– The city’s most generous squares
• M2 Homes – M2 for short – wants to be a visionary
landlord by renewing the rental housing business.
• Name M2 stems from the abbreviation of the word
square meter (m2)
• M2 provides the most generous square meters in the
city, in the proximity of local services.

7. 7
What’s affordable? - Tenant’s perspective
• Pay less / lower rent
• Get more with what
you pay/ more
services and better
facilities
• Get more incomes/
housing and work
opportunities

8. 8
What’s affordable?
- Social housing landlord´s perspective
• Lower quality of housing
• Better financing /production
support
• Costs:
• Land
• Construction /materials, work
• Process
• Maintenance costs

9. 9
Making ”affordable” housing affordable
• Definition:
• You have money left for living
after rent
• 85 % of applicants: income less
than 2 500 €

10. 10
M2 Concept
• Created with Demos Helsinki
• Uuras, Inno and Koto
• Inno: ”Your home is more/bigger
than your own apartment”
• Koto: ”Home where it is easy to
come”
• Uuras: ”Best combination of home
and work”

11. 11
Uuras concept
• M2: a visionary landlord by
supporting work opportunities.
• The world’s smallest fair of new
working methods / Maailman
pienimmät uuden työn messut in
Jätkäsaari, Helsinki 31st of May
• Uuras hoffice:
• a free, temporary working space for
everybody
• Open from 24th of May until 23rd of June
at 10-18 o’clock.
• Located in Juutinraumankatu 10,
Jätkäsaari

12. 12
Uuras concept (future)
• Researches how a
landlord can be a link
between people and
changing working life
• Cleaning group
• ”Work caretaker”

13. 13
Final comments
• 16 000 tenants
• A community of practice
• Huge human potential
• - capabilities approach
(Nussbaum)
• - building resilient, sustainable
communities
• ”all-inclusive” affordable social
housing as a normal, ordinary
housing solution
• A question of human dignity