This article was originally published on Euractiv.
Having a place to call home has become unaffordable for far too many people in the European Union. While average rents are almost a quarter higher than in 2010, the cost of buying a home has risen by 50%. This represents a harsh reality for over 10.6% of Europeans living in cities and 7% in rural areas (Eurostat 2024). The data is even more striking when it comes to young people, with about 47% of young Europeans (18-34) still living with their parents.
Behind these numbers are stories like Paula's, accepted into a master's degree in Madrid, two hours away from her hometown, but unable to afford a room in the Spanish capital. Or Karl, who recently got a job in a small town near Lyon but sleeps in his car, lacking three months of salary needed as a guarantee. Or Bruna, a single mother of three, crammed into a one-bedroom apartment because her pay will not stretch further.
Housing and the cost of living were key issues that drove citizens to the polls in the last European Parliament elections. Addressing the need for quality, social, and affordable housing is essential to restore people’ trust in the European project.
The Party of European Socialists Group in the European Committee of the Regions has been the first to call for a European Deal for Housing. Today the PES family has succeeded in placing this issue at the top of the European Commission’s agenda and in establishing a special committee in the European Parliament to propose solutions.
But the hard work must start now. As the European Commission prepares to present the European Affordable Housing Plan, progressive mayors, local leaders and Members of the European Parliament are putting forward eleven concrete steps to fix the housing crisis in the European Union – steps that are part of the work led by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, in the European Committee of the Regions and adopted yesterday:
- Empowering local and regional authorities. The European Affordable Housing Plan should recognise the rich variety of housing models and the vital role of social, public, cooperative, non-profit and limited-profit housing providers. Municipalities play a key role in ensuring access to decent, social, and affordable housing through their competences in urban planning, land use, building regulations and permits, mobility, and other public services.
- Prioritising housing in the next EU budget. Quality affordable housing must become an explicit goal in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF), beyond cohesion policy. Shifting resources within cohesion policy alone will not solve the housing crisis. New priorities require new funding, including better blending of different sources and revolving funds to sustain public investment in affordable housing.
- Revising state aid rules and public procurement. We must exempt investments in social, public, cooperative and non-profit housing providers from state aid restrictions. Broadening the scope of state aid beyond social housing would allow local and regional authorities to invest in all models that enhance housing affordability and promote inclusive neighborhoods. Public procurement can also boost public investment in decent social and affordable housing.
- Ending speculation. The European Commission and the European Investment Bank must establish clear social conditionalities for the allocation of European funds and loans, to prevent speculation. An EU-wide transparency register of property transactions is needed, identifying the beneficial owner of each property, to ensure transparency and accountability. Addressing the financialisation of housing and applying sound regulations in the housing market can curb predatory practices by large profit-driven investors.
- Safeguarding affordability long-term. Affordable housing built with EU support must remain affordable and not be quickly sold to the private market. This means setting very strict long-term conditions and ensuring land remains under local authorities' ownership. By keeping land in public hands, local authorities can control the fate of housing units, avoid speculation and ensure long-term affordability.
- Regulating short-term rentals. These have jeopardised people’s rights and disrupted local communities, causing displacement and gentrification. It is essential to fully implement the EU framework on short-term rentals and ensure platforms comply with regional and local regulations. We must also go beyond the current regulation to protect the right to housing.
- Integrating a gender and diversity perspective. Urban development and housing policies must address the specific needs and challenges faced by women and vulnerable groups by ensuring access to affordable, decent, and safe housing and living environment.
- Supporting small municipalities and regions with specific needs. Small municipalities, islands or mountainous areas face particular challenges, including limited access to funding, demographic decline, and the potential pressure linked to tourism. A targeted approach is needed to support their housing needs.
- Building skills for the housing sector. We need workers equipped with the skills to drive the green and digital transitions, especially in decarbonising the construction sector. Local and regional authorities play a central role in fostering these skills.
- Making buildings sustainable. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is having a substantial impact to make the construction industry more sustainable, but we must avoid “renoviction”, where renovations drive up rents leading ultimately to evictions.
- Ending homelessness. The European Affordable Housing Plan must support the Housing First approach, which combines rehousing with high quality social support services to drive systemic change and end homelessness.
As people take to the streets to protest soaring housing costs, progressive leaders – locally, regionally, and in the European Parliament – are responding to these concerns. The European Affordable Housing Plan is more than a policy initiative, it is a moral imperative to safeguard the social fabric of communities and ensure no one is left behind.
The European Union must support local and regional authorities to make the right to affordable and decent housing a reality. The time is now to fix the housing crisis.
First signatories:
Members of the PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions
- Luca Menesini, President of the Party of European Socialists Group in the European Committee of the Regions (PES Group) and President of the Municipal Council of Capannori and Councillor of the Province of Lucca, Italy
- Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions and local councillor of Budapest, Hungary
- Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, Spain, and European Committee of the Regions’ rapporteur on “The role of cities and regions in the EU Affordable Housing Plan”
- Mikko Aaltonen, Local councillor of Tampere, Finland
- Vasco Alves Cordeiro, Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Portugal
- Arianna Censi, Deputy Mayor of Milan, Italy
- María Victoria Chivite Navascués, President of the Navarra region, Spain
- Frédérique Bonnard, Vice-President of Brest Métropole, France
- Carolina Darias San Sebastián, Mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
- Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens, Greece, and Vice-President of the PES Group
- Marco Dus, Deputy Mayor of Vittorio Veneto, Italy
- Joško Klisović, President of the Assembly of the City of Zagreb, Croatia
- Marie Johansson, Local councillor of Gislaved, Sweden
- Antje Grotheer, President of the Bremen State Parliament, Germany
- Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome, Italy
- Peter Kaiser, Governor of Carinthia, Austria
- Tom Jungen, Mayor of Roeser, Luxembourg
- Matteo Lepore, Mayor of Bologna, Italy
- Karsten Lucke, Local councillor of Bad Marienberg, Germany
- Karsten Uno Petersen, Councilor of South Denmark Regional Council, Denmark
- Christophe Rouillon, Mayor of Coulaines, France
- Nathalie Sarrabezolles, Councillor of the Finistère Department, France
- Pascal Smet, Member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
- Fauzaya Talhaoui, Councillor of the Province of Antwerp, Belgium
Members of the S&D Group in the European Parliament
- Iratxe García Pérez, President of the S&D Group in the European Parliament
- Gaby Bischoff, Vice-President of the S&D Group on Sustainable Economy, Social Europe and Single Market
- Isilda Gomes, Member of the European Parliament Alícia Homs Ginel, Member of the European Parliament
- Marit Maij, Member of the European Parliament
- Yannis Maniatis, Member of the European Parliament
- Nora Mebarek, Member of the European Parliament
- Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Member of the European Parliament, shadow rapporteur Housing Committee
- Marcos Ros Sempere, Member of the European Parliament
- Andreas Schieder, Member of the European Parliament, S&D Group coordinator for the Housing Committee
- Marko Vešligaj, Member of the European Parliament
