The European Network for Housing Research (ENHR), established in 1988, is a pan-European platform bringing together individuals and institutions dedicated to housing research across nearly all European countries and several beyond. Its origins trace back to a recognized need for structured cross-border collaboration among social scientists following influential international conferences in the late 1980s. The organization was founded by a group of scholars led by Bengt Turner and Hugo Priemus, initially under the auspices of Swedish research institutes, before relocating its secretariat to the University of Uppsala in 1994.
Currently, ENHR comprises approximately 1000 individual members and nearly 100 institutional members, representing a wide geographical and disciplinary spread. Its structure includes around 25 thematic working groups exploring topics from collaborative housing to welfare policy. These groups meet at least annually, discussing ongoing research and hosting workshops, particularly during the major ENHR conference, an event organized every year in different European locations. The organization also supports early-career scholars through initiatives like the New Housing Researchers Colloquium, held during biennial conferences.
A notable project is the long-standing Working Group on Housing Finance. In 2014, for example, it contributed expertise marking 25 years of comparative analysis of housing finance systems throughout Europe, reflecting ENHR’s commitment to both historical perspective and policy relevance. The range of activities includes coordination of academic publications, organizing major conferences, mentoring for young researchers, and facilitating international research funding collaborations. The network’s leadership is currently chaired by Professor Peter Boelhouwer from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.