It is a pleasure to welcome a new Swedish member, Telge Bostäder, to the Eurhonet Community. To learn more about the organisation and its goals we spoke with its CEO, Krister Mellström.

Welcome to Eurhonet! Can you tell us a bit about your organisation?

“Telge Bostäder is Södertälje’s municipal housing company, with a clear public mission: to provide safe, affordable and sustainable homes while actively contributing to the social and urban development of the city.
We manage and develop housing across Södertälje, working both with long-term stewardship of existing neighbourhoods and with new construction. Our role goes beyond property management, we see ourselves as an urban development actor, deeply involved in social sustainability, climate transition and local collaboration”

What is your background and how did you come to work in public/social housing?

“My background is in leadership and societal development, with many years of experience from both public organisations and municipally owned companies.
What attracted me to public housing is precisely the combination of professionalism and purpose. Here, you operate in a highly complex business environment (finance, construction, sustainability, regulation) but always with a very concrete societal impact. Few sectors are as close to people’s everyday lives as housing.”

What does public/social housing mean to you?

“For me, public housing is one of society’s most important stabilising forces. It is where social policy, climate ambition, economic responsibility and human dignity meet.
It is about ensuring that housing is not reduced to a commodity only, but remains a foundation for inclusion, health, safety and opportunity. Public housing has a unique mandate to take long-term responsibility, across economic cycles and political terms.”

What are the most rewarding and stimulating aspects of your role? 

“The most rewarding aspect is seeing how strategic decisions actually change real neighbourhoods and people’s everyday lives. When long-term investments translate into safer areas, better homes and stronger communities, that is extremely meaningful.
The most challenging part is balancing everything that public housing is expected to carry at the same time: financial robustness, climate transition, social responsibility, political expectations and increasing housing needs, often in an uncertain economic environment.”

What motivates you in your role?

“I am motivated by the possibility of building something that lasts. Housing is not short-term. The decisions we make today will shape Södertälje for decades.
Being able to lead an organisation that combines professional excellence with a clear social mission is a strong driving force for me.”

What are your organisation’s key priorities at the moment?

“Our key priorities are:

• Strengthening social sustainability in our neighbourhoods through presence, partnerships and targeted initiatives.
• Climate and energy transition, including renovation strategies, energy efficiency and climate-smart new production.
• Responsible new construction, where affordability, long-term economics and urban quality go hand in hand.
• Organisational development, ensuring that we have the competence, culture and governance needed for the future.”

Can you tell us about a recent project you are proud of?

“One area I am particularly proud of is how we have expanded our social initiatives connected to our housing areas – for example, through local job initiatives, safety-focused work and collaboration with the municipality, NGOs and other actors.
We are increasingly integrating social value creation into our core business, not as a side project, but as part of how we manage and develop housing. That shift is strategically important.”

What are the main challenges of public/social housing in your region?

“In Sweden, and particularly in growing regions like ours, the main challenges are:

• Rising construction and financing costs, which put pressure on affordability.
• A large need for renovation in existing stock, while climate requirements are increasing.
• Growing social polarisation, which places higher demands on housing companies to work with safety, trust and inclusion.

The challenge is not one of vision – it is one of execution under tough economic conditions.”

Your Eurhonet membership: what motivated you to join the network?

“We joined Eurhonet because we strongly believe that public housing’s challenges cannot be solved in isolation.
Across Europe, we face remarkably similar questions around affordability, climate transition and social cohesion. Eurhonet offers a platform for knowledge exchange, innovation and strategic collaboration.”

What do you hope to gain from the network?

“We hope to gain:

• Deeper insight into how other public housing organisations work with climate adaptation, renovation and new business models.
• Inspiration and concrete methods for social sustainability and neighbourhood development.
• Strategic dialogue at leadership-level about the future role of public housing in Europe.”

What would you like other Eurhonet members to know about your organisation?

“That Telge Bostäder is an organisation that dares to combine long-term financial responsibility with strong social and environmental ambition.
We are very open to collaboration, pilot projects and knowledge exchange. We see ourselves not only as learners in the network, but also as active contributors, particularly in areas such as integrated social work, public sector collaboration and large-scale housing management.”

We warmly welcome Telge Bostäder to Eurhonet and look forward to the fruitful collaboration ahead.