Finland
KOVA (member)
Association for Advocating Affordable Rental Housing
KOVA is a national umbrella association for non-profit rental housing companies and foundations in Finland.
It was established in 2013 to strengthen the lobbying of non-profit rental housing companies and foundations. Its mission is to gather all the Finnish non-profit rental housing companies and foundations together. Its goal is to create permanent conditions for production of reasonable priced rental housing in Finland.
KOVA now has 21 members that own, maintain and build reasonable priced and state subsidized rental houses all over Finland. As members they have municipally owned rental housing companies and foundations, and other non-profit rental housing companies and foundations. Its members’ ownership now covers about 160 000 rental apartments – 40 percent of all state subsidized rental houses in Finland.
Through diverse relations to civil servants, politicians and other organizations which have housing on their agenda, KOVA has already grown to a leading lobbyist and expert in rental housing. Already in its early state KOVA has established a position, where it is consulted directly over draft legislation affecting its members´ interests. KOVA also takes actively initiatives to change legislation.