Housing conditions continue to represent a significant social and economic challenge in Romania, which has the highest rate of housing deprivation among all EU countries. Habitat for Humanity Romania has developed a range of programmes to address the country’s many needs, from affordable housing and post-disaster recovery to energy efficiency and community support. We spoke with Habitat for Humanity Romania’s National Director, Roberto Pătrășcoiu, who shared some of the organisation’s impressive results, including building 36 homes in 5 days with 1 000 volunteers, setting the record for the largest volunteer build in Europe.

Habitat for Humanity Romania has been very active in recent years, from large-scale volunteer builds like Hope Build and CEO Build 2025, to renovation projects for vulnerable families. Could you tell us more about these recent initiatives, such as their goals, the impact they have had on local communities and what they reveal about the current state of housing needs in Romania?

Habitat for Humanity Romania is addressing the country’s growing housing challenges through four programmes: affordable housing, housing disaster recovery and resilience, energy resilience, and vulnerable communities.

The affordable housing programme remains our core initiative. We build homes with low-income families who cannot access the formal housing market, using transparent selection criteria: financial need (below 60% of the national average income), urgency and a 500-hour ‘sweat equity’ contribution. Over 30 years, we have built more than 5 100 homes with support from over 55 000 volunteers. Flagship builds such as Hope Build and CEO Build accelerate construction and raise visibility. In 2024 we completed 8 homes in 1 week, and in 2017 we built 36 homes in 5 days with 1 000 volunteers – the largest volunteer build ever organised in Europe.

Our housing disaster recovery and resilience programme focuses on long-term reconstruction for communities affected by disasters. We have supported thousands of Ukrainian refugees and families evacuated from Gaza, as well as Romanian communities recovering from the 2025 Suceava and 2024 Galați floods.

The energy resilience programme targets Romania’s severe energy poverty by improving insulation and reducing heating costs for vulnerable households.

Our work in vulnerable communities supports families facing extreme deprivation by renovating substandard homes and building essential infrastructure such as community centres and preparedness hubs.

Together, these programmes illustrate the scale of Romania’s housing needs – from affordability and disaster exposure to energy poverty and persistent marginalisation.

What are the main challenges you face when working with local authorities or public institutions on social housing projects? Are there particular collaboration models that you believe work best?

Two partnership models have proven most effective.

The Affordable Housing Public-Private Partnership combines Habitat’s funding, volunteer mobilisation and technical expertise with municipal land and permitting support. This simple model – land from the municipality, homes from Habitat – has improved the lives of more than 20 000 people and could be scaled nationally.

The Social Rental Agency model is particularly useful in emergencies. Habitat rents apartments from the private market and offers them free or at subsidised rates to families in need. We have applied it for Ukrainian refugees, families evacuated from Gaza and victims of the Rahova apartment block explosion. In that case, the municipality of Bucharest co-financed the intervention, demonstrating its adaptability.

The main challenges that remain are bureaucracy and slow administrative procedures, but when roles are clearly defined, these models deliver rapid and transparent results.

Habitat for Humanity Romania mobilises thousands of volunteers and corporate partners each year. What motivates this engagement, and how does it help build long-term community resilience beyond the physical construction of homes?

More than 55 000 volunteers have participated in our projects – the equivalent of a medium-sized Romanian city. Volunteering is transformative: participants gain a deeper understanding of inequality and community responsibility. Many continue engaging in civic activities, and beneficiary families often return to volunteer themselves. This cycle of involvement strengthens communities and builds long-term resilience beyond the homes constructed.

Looking to the future, what do you see as the most urgent priorities for reducing housing insecurity in Romania, and how is Habitat for Humanity Romania preparing to respond to these challenges in the coming years?

Four megatrends will shape Romania’s housing landscape: climate-related disasters, migration and displacement, energy poverty, and rising housing costs. Addressing them will require scalable, coordinated solutions such as strengthened public-private partnerships and a functional national social renting system.

Habitat for Humanity Romania’s five-year strategy aligns with these priorities. Through our four programme areas, we aim to build climate resilience, reduce energy burdens, expand access to affordable housing and support vulnerable communities. Our goal is to provide long-term stability and resilience for families across Romania.

Roberto Pătrășcoiu is National Director of Habitat for Humanity Romania. He has been at its helm since 2016, bringing strong vision and decisiveness to the organisation. His leadership stood out during critical moments, such as the rapid response to the Ukrainian and Gaza refugee crises and the severe floods in Galați and Suceava, when he successfully mobilised substantial resources to support affected families. He also played a key role in shaping and expanding major national initiatives, including the flagship CEO Build programme, helping strengthen Habitat’s impact across Romania.

Habitat for Humanity Romania is the affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, a global non-profit organisation that helps families build or improve affordable homes through volunteer labour and community partnerships. It works in more than 70 countries, offering housing support, disaster relief and advocacy for decent shelter worldwide.