There is a lot of talk at the political and institutional level about social investment and mobilising alternative sources of capital to help fund, well, pretty much everything. Key Performance Indicators are often touted as an essential tool to facilitate private investment in social housing. While I agree they are indeed an essential tool, other elements are also needed.

On the occasion of the launch of 'The State of Housing in the EU 2017' report, Housing Europe Secretary General, Sorcha Edwards explains which are the five concrete links between EU policy and the housing sector, beyond the statement that "housing is not an EU competence".

November is an exciting month for social housing providers in the Netherlands. Every year, with a mix of hope and anxiety, it is when the results of the Aedes-Benchmark are published. This year will be the fourth edition after the benchmark was launched in 2014. The benchmark was introduced to make sure social housing corporations stay alert and learn from colleague corporations. It was a reaction to a series of incidents that plagued the sector around 2010. The sector came under public and political pressure to improve its performances and the level of transparency. The benchmark has proven to be a valuable instrument since then.