ESH Social Housing Innovation Award

Reward innovation that gives meaning to real estate

This award recognises the most effective initiative to make social housing resilient to climate and societal challenges
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Objective of the contest

The Innovation in Social Housing Award – ESH aims to highlight and reward innovative solutions that help drive the long-term transformation of the social housing sector. Today, social housing faces major challenges: the ecological transition, adaptation to climate-related hazards (heatwaves, floods, fires, etc.), energy-efficient renovation, cost control, an ageing population, changing lifestyles, social inclusion, and growing economic constraints. In response to these issues, innovation is a key lever for supporting the sector’s transformation and meeting the expectations of housing providers, residents, and local communities. 

 The competition recognizes companies, projects, and solutions that provide concrete, measurable, and replicable responses to these challenges. Whether technological, organizational, social, or environmental, the innovations presented must contribute to sustainably improving residents’ quality of life, strengthening the performance and resilience of housing assets, facilitating the work of social housing providers, and generating a positive impact on local communities. 

 Applications are assessed against several criteria: the innovative nature of the solution, its relevance to the challenges facing social housing, its social, environmental, and economic impact, its viability, its potential for large-scale deployment, and its contribution to the goals of resource efficiency, decarbonization, and social cohesion that are shaping the future of social housing. 

 Through this award, Entreprises Sociales pour l’Habitat (ESH) and the RENT trade show aim to showcase the most promising initiatives, encourage the emergence of new solutions, and accelerate innovation in support of more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient social housing.
ESH Social Housing Innovation Award  
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  What you need to know

 
📅 What are the important dates?


 The dates

  • Closing date of the competition: Monday, September 21, 2026
  • Date of presentation of the 8 finalists to the jury : The afternoon of 15 October in ESH' headquarter
  • Presentation of the 2 finalists to be decided by the public during a pitch in the Pitch Zone: Wednesday, November 4, 2026
  • Date of award ceremony: Wednesday, November 04, 2026, during the RENT.
⚖️ Who is part of the jury?


The jury

Chaired by Valérie Fournier, Chief Executive Officer and President, and Didier Poussou, Chief Executive Officer of the Fédération des ESH, the jury will this year bring together committed and influential figures from the real estate, innovation, and Proptech sectors. Their mission will be to select the most promising finalist projects in terms of social, societal, and environmental impact, and to evaluate the live pitches during RENT 2026: 
 🏡 Stéphane Scarella, Director of RENT 
🏡 Astrid Salcedo, Digital and Cross-Functional Projects Officer at the Fédération des ESH 
🏡 Betty Hervé, Projects Officer at the Fédération des ESH 
🏡 Nicolas Alline, Director of Economic and Statistical Studies at the Fédération des ESH 
🏡 Suzanne Descateaux, Head of Studies, HR Development and CSR at the Fédération des ESH 
🏡 Caroline Hendrickx, Executive Assistant at the Fédération des ESH 
🏡 Patrick Eveilleau, Secretary General of the Association Force Ouvrière Consommateurs (AFOC) du VAR 
 Projects will be evaluated both on substance and presentation, and the finalists will have the opportunity to defend their solution before the audience during RENT Paris 2026, in a major pitch session followed by a public vote.
🎯 Who can compete?


Competitors

The Social Housing Innovation Award – ESH is open to all companies, start-ups, SMEs, mid-market firms, large corporations, associations or innovative organisations developing solutions designed to address the challenges facing social housing.

Whether or not you are an exhibitor at the RENT trade fair, you can apply provided your solution offers a practical response to the sector’s challenges: the green transition, energy-efficient refurbishment, climate adaptation, social inclusion, residents’ quality of life, property performance or improved services for landlords.

The size of your organisation, your turnover or how long you have been in business are not selection criteria. The judging panel will assess, above all, the innovative nature of your solution, its relevance to social housing, its social, environmental and economic impact, as well as its potential for roll-out and wider adoption.

Through this competition, we aim to highlight the most promising initiatives and recognise those who are helping to build more sustainable, resilient and inclusive social housing.

🌍 Showcase your innovation, inspire industry stakeholders and play your part in transforming social housing.

🎁 What are the rewards?

 

The Reward

The winner of the Social Housing Innovation Award – ESH will benefit from exceptional visibility amongst the key players in the social housing and property sectors.

The announcement of the winner and the official presentation of the trophy will take place at the RENT Paris trade fair on Wednesday 4 November 2026, in the presence of property professionals, the award’s partners and the trade press.

The winner will also be featured in a dedicated post on the official channels of the RENT Exhibition and the Federation of Social Housing Organisations (ESH), with a view to showcasing their innovation and raising their profile across the entire social housing ecosystem.

In addition to this recognition, the winner will be offered a unique opportunity to accelerate the development of their solution. Social Housing Organisations account for more than half of the social housing stock in France. The winner will therefore be invited to present their innovation to the Federal Council of the Federation of Social Housing Organisations, a strategic governing body comprising 76 chief executives of Social Housing Organisations.

This unique platform will enable him to raise awareness of his solution amongst the sector’s key decision-makers, promote its large-scale roll-out and create new opportunities for collaboration aimed at transforming social housing.

Send your application

Candidate companies submit their preliminary presentation files on paris.rent.immo. They then receive a link to answer questions in video format, and these materials must be received by Monday, September 21, 2026.


Selection of the semi-finalists 

The jury reviews the submissions and selects the eight finalists who will be invited to present in the presence of the press and the jury on October, 15, 2026, at ESH.


Presentations, pitches and selection of finalists 

On the afternoon of 15 October, each finalist will pitch a maximum of 15min at ESH and answer questions from the jury. The jury will deliberate after these presentations and select the top 2 finalists who will be presented to the public at the RENT Trade Show.


Finalists' pitch

The announcement of the winner(s) and the awarding of the Prize will take place during the RENT Fair, on Wednesday, November, 4th at the Porte de Versailles.   


 The jury

To select the winner of this inaugural 2026 edition, we have chosen THE ad hoc jury, comprising experts from our sector, entrepreneurs and financiers who have been active in this field for many years.

Sponsor

Social Housing Organisations (ESH) are key players in the social housing sector in France. As private companies with a public interest mission, they build, manage and renovate affordable housing to meet the needs of local areas and their residents. Operating throughout France, ESHs support people’s housing journeys, promote social diversity and contribute to local development. Committed to environmental, social and digital transitions, they are constantly innovating to design housing that is more sustainable, more inclusive and better suited to the challenges of tomorrow. Through their work, they place people, quality of life and responsibility at the heart of their commitments.

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