This article was co-signed by Habitat for Humanity International, the European Environmental Bureau, CAN Europe, Energy Cities, Community Land Trust Network, FEANTSA, Housing Europe, BPIE, ECOS, REScoop and the European Youth Forum.
The Parliament’s draft housing report focuses too narrowly on new construction. The Commission’s upcoming Affordable Housing Plan must tackle financialisation, empower communities and put affordability and sustainability at its core.
Across Europe, the cost of housing has reached record highs. Between 2010 and early 2025, EU house prices rose by nearly 58% and rents by almost 28%. Seventeen percent of Europeans live in overcrowded conditions and more than 1.2 million face homelessness. One in ten people cannot keep their homes adequately warm. These numbers are not just social statistics; they are indicators of structural failure.
The European Parliament’s HOUS Committee has taken an important first step by drafting a report on tackling the housing crisis. Yet its focus remains largely on boosting construction and increasing supply. While this is part of the solution, it risks repeating a policy reflex that treats the housing crisis as a question of quantity rather than of access, affordability and long-term sustainability.
The European Commission now faces a defining moment as it prepares to publish the European Affordable Housing Plan (EAHP) in December. This plan can either continue business as usual – treating housing as a commodity to be produced and traded – or it can recognise housing as essential public infrastructure, central to social inclusion, climate objectives and economic resilience. The latter path requires a more integrated, long-term approach that goes beyond short-term fixes.
A narrow “build, build, build” agenda will not resolve a crisis rooted in speculative ownership, financialisation and profit-driven models. Simply increasing supply without addressing who owns housing, how it is financed and whether it remains affordable will perpetuate inequality and fuel environmental degradation. Europe needs a systemic shift: from housing as an asset to housing as a right.
First, the European Affordable Housing Plan must prioritise reinvestment in public, social and non-profit housing as a cornerstone of Europe’s social infrastructure. The experience of Member States such as France and Denmark shows that sustained public investment can deliver affordability, quality and inclusion simultaneously. Expanding and modernising the social housing stock should be guided by housing needs assessments, energy performance objectives, and community participation. Programmes such as “Housing First” demonstrate that secure, adequate homes are also the most effective tool to prevent homelessness and social exclusion. Europe should commit to doubling the share of social and non-profit housing by 2030.
Second, the Plan should promote a diverse mix of housing models and tenure types, supported by better regulation of the private rental market. Cost-rental systems, social rental agencies, cooperative housing and community land trusts offer proven ways to maintain long-term affordability and reduce speculation. Conditionalities for public subsidies and EU funding should ensure that the benefits of affordability remain locked in rather than fuelling rising prices. Affordability should be defined by what households can actually pay while meeting basic needs, not simply by reference to market prices. The Commission can further enable these models by adapting financial instruments – such as the Affordable Housing Investment Platform – to make them accessible to smaller, community-led projects.
Third, Europe must make better use of what already exists. Around 47 million homes stand vacant across the EU, while a third of Europeans live in underoccupied dwellings. Renovating and repurposing empty buildings can provide affordable homes faster and with far lower environmental costs than new construction. The Commission should support a common EU framework for tracking building use, encourage Member States to act on long-term vacancies, and earmark funding for retrofits of underused buildings. This would avoid urban sprawl, create local jobs and align with circular economy goals.
Fourth, the transition to a decarbonised housing stock must be socially fair. Energy renovation policies will only succeed if they are accessible to low-income households and designed to prevent displacement or rent increases. Funding mechanisms should prioritise the worst-performing buildings and provide up-front financial and technical support for vulnerable households. Social safeguards, such as rent controls, transparent savings assessments and tenant participation, are essential to ensure that renovation programmes reduce, rather than deepen, inequalities. For many young Europeans locked out of homeownership and facing high rents, this will also determine whether they can build stable lives in their communities.
Finally, the Affordable Housing Plan must align EU policy frameworks with the right to adequate and affordable housing. Fiscal rules, state aid frameworks and market regulations often limit public investment in housing. The Commission should assess these constraints and propose adjustments, such as exempting social housing investment from debt and deficit calculations and improving guidance on Services of General Economic Interest (SGEIs). Housing policy cannot be effective if broader EU economic governance continues to treat it as a peripheral issue.
Europe’s housing crisis today is the result of choices that prioritised markets over people and short-term construction targets over long-term resilience. The upcoming European Affordable Housing Plan offers the opportunity to change course: to reinvest in public good, support citizen-led solutions and build a housing system that is fair, sustainable and inclusive.
As organisations working across the social, housing and environmental fields, we believe this integrated approach is the only path forward. The Commission’s plan must deliver the structural change. Europe cannot afford to patch over the cracks. It is time to rebuild the foundations – fairly and sustainably.
Affordable housing is Europe’s next social contract.
