EU Project IN-HABIT

Access to housing is a fundamental human right, but for many people with disabilities the desire to live autonomously is thwarted by a severe shortage of accessible and affordable housing, long waiting lists, and a lack of personalised support services.

The IN-HABIT project aims to foster inclusive housing solutions by strengthening the capacity of housing professionals, service providers, and local authorities to better support people with disabilities.

The project takes shape within the context of a deepening housing crisis across the European Union, resulting in stronger political commitment from the European Commission and the launch of the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan in December 2025. While these initiatives signal a strong focus on affordable and sustainable housing, they risk overlooking the specific challenges faced by people with disabilities.

Aims

The Project aims to:

Identify skills gaps and good practices in inclusive housing:
Identify skills gaps in housing services across key EU countries, while actively collecting and consolidating good practices in inclusive housing and person-centred support models to inform future policy and service development.
Strengthen the capacity of housing and support actors:
Enhance the capacity of housing professionals, local authorities and service providers to design, implement, and sustain innovative, inclusive housing models that align with the diverse needs of people with disabilities, while ensuring person-centred support that facilitates their transition and integration into community living.
Improve access to inclusive housing services through digital tools:
Enhance access to inclusive housing services and resources for people with disabilities through digital technologies and engage their circle of support to foster inclusive community development.
Foster dialogue and policy innovation across the housing sector:
Strengthen dialogue among key housing sector stakeholders to enhance workforce preparedness in local authorities and foster policy innovation and cross-sectoral collaboration for inclusive housing solutions.

Main Target Groups

Housing professionals
Service providers for persons with disabilities
Local authority professionals
People with disabilities and circle of support members

Activities

The Project will:

Conduct research and deliver:
- A state of play report presenting an overview of inclusive social housing initiatives and of challenges and barriers faced by housing professionals, disability service providers and local authorities in making housing stock more inclusive for people with disabilities
- A collection of innovative practices of inclusive housing for people with disabilities
Establish an interactive digital orientation hub of support service for people with disabilities (MyService) providing access to community resources, and essential support services through a centralised, user-friendly platform.
Develop training modules and deliver train the trainers workshops to equip selected professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to deliver the training modules developed.
Develop a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed as a self-paced, modular learning experience.
Deliver in-person local piloting workshops in the five focus countries (Greece, Hungary, France, Italy, Ireland) for all target groups.
Develop policy recommendations informing local policy roundtables in Greece, Italy, Hungary, France, Ireland as well as the IN-HABIT Final Conference, and supporting their translation into actionable roadmaps.