By Thomas Kattnig

Rising rents, soaring real estate prices and salaries that are not keeping up with inflation are making housing unaffordable for a growing number of people. The housing crisis in the EU is real.

This is leading to higher healthcare costs, productivity losses, environmental damage and negative economic consequences due to reduced purchasing power.

The EESC, as the voice of organised civil society, believes that urgent action must be taken to remedy the market failure in the housing sector. Therefore, we call on the Commission to work with the Parliament, Member States and civil society to put together a comprehensive package of EU measures establishing framework conditions and the right to housing, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

We therefore welcome the appointment of a Commissioner for Energy and Housing and the announcement that a European Affordable Housing Plan will be put forward within the next 100 days. We need, among other things, an EU-wide transparency register for real estate transactions, more streamlined coordination, more efficient permitting procedures, better land-use planning, affordable land for social housing, more investment in renovation and climate-friendly construction, and the Housing First programme so as to give homeless people security and prospects once more. We call for housing to be recognised as a fundamental right and not a commodity, by enshrining it in EU primary law.

At the same time, we agree with the Letta report that access to social housing needs to be more broadly defined in State aid law.

Moreover, the EESC calls for a significant increase in financial support for social housing. Firstly, public investment in social housing must be excluded from the Stability and Growth Pact’s debt rules. Secondly, non-profit property developers and cooperatives, as well as municipalities, should be able to obtain long-term, interest-free loans through the planned investment platform or directly from the European Investment Bank.

Short-term rentals, which are a problem in many major European cities, further reduce the amount of housing available. To get to grips with this phenomenon, we need a toolbox at EU level with various tools, such as vacant property taxes and rent caps, so that Member States can take appropriate action.

Particular attention must also be paid a) to meeting the housing needs of young people through targeted programmes such as Housing First for Youth (HF4Y) and b) to including people with disabilities.

To ensure that housing is not only affordable but also sustainable, renovations and retrofits should be prioritised over new builds. To facilitate such renovations, we call for a combination of mandatory and supporting measures to ensure that fair climate action is taken. Funding tools are needed to enable everyone to carry out thermal and energy renovations, regardless of their financial situation. At the same time, obligations must be laid down for property owners, in particular landlords, to protect tenants from excessive rent increases due to landlords passing on costs.

Finally, we stress that the housing crisis not only adversely affects European citizens’ quality of life, but also threatens the smooth running of the EU internal market. An EU housing strategy is therefore needed to increase the housing supply, introduce measures to reduce construction costs, help upskill the workforce, increase productivity and improve the environmental performance of the construction industry.