An affordable housing is increasingly developed, financed and managed by a mix of state, third-sector, market and community actors. This has led to the emergence of various hybrid governance and finance arrangements. This development may be seen as part of a general long-term neoliberal trend in government policies, and social, cultural and economic developments. It is  the hybridity and variety of governance and finance of affordable housing will continue to grow. This article discusses innovative hybrid arrangements from Austria, England and Italy, in which governments, private and non-profit actors collaborate to increase the supply of affordable housing. The active role of citizens in the development of joint solutions to social problems and the provision of public services is often referred to as “co-production” or “co-creation”. These terms are used as an umbrella concept encompassing a broad array of initiatives oriented towards the active involvement of users.

The trend towards more hybrid forms of housing provision can be explained by various developments. In general, it can be seen as a response to, or part of, a long-term neoliberal trend, and an associated retrenchment of the state in direct support and provision of social housing. This, for example, forces third-sector housing providers to rely more and more on private finance. In the UK, this is visible in the housing associations’ interest in attracting finance from institutional investors through bonds. In France, tax incentives have led to an increased activity of private developers in affordable housing. The abolishment of the public status of many social housing providers in Germany the 1980s, and the subsequent acquisitions of social housing portfolios by institutional investors (e.g., private equity funds, pension funds, insurance companies) can be seen as a “radical” front-runner in this respect. Thus, reduced state support, combined with the recent stagnating economy and often long waiting lists for existing social housing stock, have also stimulated citizens’ interest in becoming more active in providing their own housing.