This paper examines the ways term ‘affordable housing’ is interpreted by the members of the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Housing. This examination is of vital importance. The large majority of partners in the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Housing note an absence of ‘official’, ‘policy’ and/or ‘legal’ definitions of the term ‘affordable housing’ in their constituency. Generally, Partners have developed local interpretations and policy options to deliver housing that costs less than that provided by the market.

This is limited to Partners’ individual views, yet this examination is of vital importance. Partners advance and define concrete actions for the Housing Partnership (HP) action plan with ‘affordable housing’ as a central concept. The rich variety of interpretations as well as approaches to delivering affordable housing gives the Partnership an opportunity to take its own position on the matter of ‘affordable housing’ interpretation, and to define the way it is used in its work. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to provide Partners with a platform to learn about each other’s views on the matter and facilitate a discussion.