Social Housing

Social housing is a cornerstone in the building of socially and financially sustainable communities. Plesner's Social Housing team combine legal acuteness with practical knowledge to help the sector navigate in the often complex legal environment.

Our experts have deep knowledge of the regulatory requirements and the daily challenges facing both public authorities and private enterprises. We assist in connection with development and renovation of housing areas, dispute resolution and advice on social housing law. We use our broad knowledge to ensure that our clients get advice considering the full picture and covering project development, building and property transactions.

Our partnership with social housing organisations and their partners ensures that our legal solutions not only comply with legislation but also encourage innovative thinking and sustainability. We advise on the best methods for sustainable urban development, integrate green principles in housing projects and support the development of new legislation matching current social and environmental requirements.

We work actively to influence the sector so that it can meet society's changing requirements. Our dedication to social housing extends to more than legal work; it is about strengthening the collaboration creating the diverse city.

Budget overruns

Building projects can be complex, and budget overruns may have grave consequences for the employer.

We assist our clients from the project development stage, through regulatory approvals and filing of Forms A, B and C, and we assist in identifying potential risks and minimising such risks before they affect the budget for the project.

In case of budget overruns we assist in identifying the possibilities of obtaining financial coverage of such overruns, for instance through insurance coverage and exposure of actionable conducts on the part of a contract partner. In the event of disputes we guide our clients safely through the dispute in close collaboration with our recognised Construction team.

Building contracts, building damage and defects

We guide our clients safely through complex building projects.

We assist in preparing, negotiating and reviewing construction contracts and assist in ensuring the correct allocation of responsibilities and risk handling in the contractual relationship.

We also advise on the choice of construction type and the choice of procurement model, and we analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the various models in relation to the relevant procurement. We also assist in defining the procurement strategy and in choosing the correct procurement procedure.

In case of building damage and defects, we provide assistance in connection with negotiations on remedies and compensation. We are highly specialised in terms of construction law dispute resolution, and we ensure security through all stages of such dispute resolution, including arbitration proceedings and legal proceedings.

Sustainability and community

The social housing sector plays a key role in creating diverse and socially sustainable cities, among other things through the building of affordable housing, so that residents with diverse backgrounds and income levels may live side by side.

When converting existing housing areas and developing new urban areas, sustainability is about creating better environmental, financial and socially sustainable frameworks, including by integrating sustainability principles and practices across design, construction and operation.

In close collaboration with our Real Estate team we assist our clients in creating the legal framework for sustainability and community in development and renovation projects.

The delegated client model

We advise on the building of social housing under the delegated client model, which entails that the private player guarantees the social housing organisation that building will be realised.

We assist our clients in defining interfaces between the building of social housing and private building, and we ensure holistic legal solutions considering the special circumstances applying to social housing.

We have extensive experience in advising private players on procurement rules and assisting in the completion of procurement processes, including definition of a procurement strategy, drafting of all relevant procurement and contractual documents and management of the process until the signing of a contract to ensure that it proceeds according to the rules, and that the procurement documents otherwise match the realisation of the project.

More housing through densification

In recent years, attention has increasingly been centred on the possibility of creating more housing through densification. For one thing, it has entailed that in matters concerning social housing renovation, a "comply or explain" principle is to be applied when determining whether social housing should be added.

Densification may be achieved by building on free areas, adding to existing buildings, utilising top storeys or by demolishing existing buildings and building new, larger buildings. Densification involving various types of housing and ownership may contribute to creating a diverse neighbourhood. 

We assist our clients in buying and selling housing organisations' sites or top storey areas and with cadastral or owner-occupied flat conversion. We also advise on issues relating to planning basis, additional purchase price and easements and encumbrances as well as rules on tenants' participation in relation to densification, including the definition of decision-making competences between the tenants' participation bodies.

Innovation and development

The social housing sector is an active and important player in society and contributes to support and develop social and housing policy agendas.

The social housing sector is subject to strict legislation which must be adapted regularly to keep up with developments in society. 

Consequently there is a continuous requirement for evaluating and developing new legislation for the purpose of ensuring that the legislative framework for the social housing sector supports the sector's role in the development of society.

We assist our clients in identifying any barriers to the development of the social housing sector and we identify, in close collaboration with our clients, new solutions and draft well-prepared proposals for new or additional legislation that may support society and the sector's demand for sustainability and community, for instance. 

We proactively use our knowledge of authorities' procedures and our network among social housing organisations, authorities and private players to assist our clients in driving the development of the social housing sector.

Buying and selling

Buying and selling sites and areas form a cornerstone of our services, and we take pride in tailoring solution models for the project that is to be completed.

We have deep knowledge and understanding of the conditions and rules governing social housing organisations, including the operational procedures of the supervisory authorities and their approach to social housing and renovations as well as the tenant participation process. This knowledge is valuable regardless of whether we are advising social housing organisations or private players in relation to new developments and renovation of social housing.

We assist our clients when social housing organisations are to execute building projects in the form of new building, densification or renovation of existing housing. We negotiate and ensure the highest possible standards for price and contract terms in contracts of sale in order that our clients may have a secure and frictionless transaction from beginning to end.

Our advisory services include:

• acquisition of property
• project development
• financing, including special subsidy schemes
• procurement processes
• applications for funding from the National Building Fund (Danish: skemasager) and regulatory approval
• building projects
• rules governing ancillary activities (Danish: sideaktiviteter) and ancillary activity companies (Danish: sideaktivitetsselskaber), including organisation of divisional structures and operation.

The social housing stock is currently undergoing extensive changes through realisation of development plans and overall plans and through large-scale subsidised and unsubsidised renovation projects.

We provide advice in connection with implementation of renovations and significant changes to social housing, including on decommissioning of housing, conversion of facades, roof renovations, procurement of required permissions, registration and rehousing.

We also advise on all aspects of conversion of existing buildings to social housing.

In close collaboration with our clients we communicate with the various players, from chartered surveyors, neighbours and utility companies to public authorities, private players and mortgagees, and we provide holistic and value-creating solutions.

Renovation and conversion

The social housing stock is currently undergoing extensive changes through realisation of development plans and overall plans and through large-scale subsidised and unsubsidised renovation projects.

We provide advice in connection with implementation of renovations and significant changes to social housing, including on decommissioning of housing, conversion of facades, roof renovations, procurement of required permissions, registration and rehousing.

We also advise on all aspects of conversion of existing buildings to social housing.

In close collaboration with our clients we communicate with the various players, from chartered surveyors, neighbours and utility companies to public authorities, private players and mortgagees, and we provide holistic and value-creating solutions.

Collaboration between social housing organisations and private players

We advise on all issues when social housing organisations and private players are to collaborate on the building of social housing, including in connection with private development projects where local development plans require social housing, and in connection with the development of existing social housing.

Our clients often use us as the unifying adviser coordinating and communicating the knowledge of all advisers to pave the way for overall solutions. 

We have profound knowledge of the potential challenges which social housing organisations and private players may be facing, and we ensure operational, balanced and aligned bodies of contracts supporting social housing legislation, which at the same time take into consideration the commercial market in which the parties’ agreements are to be applied during a project or transaction process.