The Estonian Union of Co-operative Housing Associations (EKYL) is an independent nonprofit working across Estonia to support apartment associations and to represent their interests on local, national and international level. The Union has more than 1400 members (apartment associations) today.
Time of foundation: 17 April 1996
Members: 1400 cooperative housing associations/ apartment associations all over Estonia
Offices: head office in Tallinn, regional offices also in Tartu, Pärnu and Kuressaare (island Saaremaa).
Structure: EKYL is governed by a Council elected regionally. The Council elects a management board of directors of three people to oversee the day to day management in accordance with the decisions of the members and the Council. EKYL employ 11 employees.
Our mission is:
(1) to support the development of apartment associations in Estonia, through the implementation of knowledge-based activities as training, consulting, advisory services, research, national and international cooperation projects;
(2) to engage apartment associations to energy efficient renovations, energy poverty alleviation programs and sustainable development commitments;
(3) to disseminate best practice case studies and promote the use of EU funds to achieving European and Estonian climate ambition.
Functions of EKYL:
Membership and advocacy organisation for apartment associations: EKYL represents interests of apartment associations on local, national and international level. The Union has more than 1400 members (apartment associations) today
Training institution: EKYL has its own private school – EKYL Training Centre for Apartment Associations, developing curriculas and offering trainings for managers, board members and apartment owners/ tenants through classroom lectures/seminars, e-learning courses and study visits
Think tank: EKYL is involved in shaping housing policy agendas, and observe and contribute to the development of legislative and other acts of law in the field of sustainable development and housing in Estonian and European level
Dissemination and campaign master: EKYL is a cooperation partner for ministries, municipalities, universities, other NGOs and enterprises, developing and implementing nationwide and international training, dissemination and consumer involvement campaigns. EKYL is organizer of annual Forums of Housing Associations (conferences) and international Baltic Housing Conferences in Estonia.
Publisher: EKYL publishes handbooks, leaflets and other materials, including its own magazine ELAMU (Dwelling) on housing
Service provider for apartment associations: EKYL offers universal, professional, high-quality services – housing management consultations, legal services (incl. representation in courts), bookkeeping-consultations etc.
Apartment association is the most spread and generally recognized way of management of residential buildings and cooperation in Estonia. It is self-financing not-for-profit organisation managing one multi-apartment building. About 70 % of Estonian population lives in apartment associations. There are 23 000 apartment associations today.
EKYL is Geneva UN Charter Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Housing in Estonia
The centre is focused on development and organisation of training programs on housing management for local housing management associations in Estonia and in post-soviet countries and countries with economies-in-transition; and coordinates cooperation between housing stakeholders in Estonia, EU member states and Eastern partnership countries.
EKYL is a member of the European Federation of Public, Cooperative & Social Housing – Housing Europe.
Since 1988 it’s a network of 46 national & regional federations gathering 43.000 housing providers in 25 countries. Together they manage around 25 million homes, about 11% of existing dwellings in Europe.
Did you know?
- EKYL is among the forerunners in the management of renovation programs for housing in individual ownership and is providing its expertise to adapt solutions specifically in regions where housing has been largely privatized and in divided ownership. EKYL has long-time experiences with organizing dissemination platforms and trainings for promoting topics like energy efficiency, nearly–zero energy and sustainable financial solutions for energy refurbishment in multi-apartment building stock. EKYL dissemination tools include its own training centre, journal on housing issues, e-newsletter and conference management network.
- EKYL has in-depth knowhow about energy-efficiency situation and problems in multi-apartment buildings in Eastern Europe post-soviet countries as well as good networking experience in those counties for dissemination of information.
- EKYL has been a partner in more than 15 consortiums of international projects, including SHEERenov, POWERPOOR, SHAPE-EU, drOp; 3 IEE projects (RESHAPE, Power House Europe, Power House Nearly Zero Challenge!), INTERREG IIIB project (BEEN) and Eastern Partnership projects with Ukraine and Belarus.