France

France’s housing market in 2025 is showing stabilization after a prolonged sales decline, with prices leveling off and rent growth moderating. Currently, about 61.2% of people own their home, while 40.3% rent, split between the private sector (22.8%) and public sector (17.4%). Median rent nationally averages around 12-23 euros per sqm monthly, and to buy, the median price is about 3,200–4,500 euros per sqm, depending on region and city size.

Publicly owned housing in France, known as Habitations à Loyer Modéré (HLM), plays a substantial role. As mandated by law, all urban municipalities must ensure at least 25% of the housing stock is social housing by 2025, though actual shares vary by city and region. Social housing is subsidized and targets low- and moderate-income families, but is not restricted to the poorest; up to 60% of the population technically qualify on income criteria.

Public housing and social housing are considered equivalent in France—both refer to HLMs. They are managed by local authorities or non-profit companies and provide regulated, means-tested rent, but the share and integration with market-rate housing differ across cities. Social housing is distinctly aimed at ensuring affordability and social inclusion. Continued government funding and strict laws underpin France’s unique approach, though construction stagnation and budget constraints remain ongoing challenges.

France faces an acute housing crisis marked by a dramatic surge in homelessness, with 350,000 people homeless in 2024—up from 143,000 in 2012. Overall, around 4 million people struggle either with homelessness or extreme housing insecurity. The crisis is fueled by a persistent shortage of affordable housing, declining construction activity, rising building costs, and increased mortgage rates. Residential construction starts fell by nearly 12% year-on-year to 260,000 units in 2024, and new housing permits dropped by 23% in 2023, establishing historic lows in new supply.

Scarcity has driven up rents and limited new allocations for social housing: annual placements dropped from 500,000 units in previous years to just 393,000 in 2023. Heating insecurity also affects a wide segment—30% of households struggled to properly heat their homes in 2024, up from 14% in 2020, and 75% reduced heating to curb costs.

Those most affected include students, single-parent families, low-wage earners, and vulnerable populations in lower-income brackets. Structural undersupply means an estimated shortfall of 170,000 to 200,000 units annually. The strain extends to public social housing, as population growth and investment-driven purchases by affluent buyers further squeeze supply and affordability, impacting millions across urban and rural France.

The French government is actively addressing the issue of affordable and sustainable housing through several initiatives. One key target is enforcing the SRU law, which requires urban municipalities to ensure at least 25% of their housing stock is social housing by 2025. To boost accessibility, programs like "Habiter Mieux" focus on renovating older buildings to improve energy efficiency for low-income households, while "Louer Abordable" provides tax incentives for landlords offering below-market rents.

New measures include stricter regulations on short-term rentals from January 2025 and higher energy performance standards for housing. The government is also expanding the zero-interest PTZ loan for first-time homebuyers to help about 15,000 additional families. Additionally, the European Investment Bank and Banque des Territoires have announced a €500 million loan package to support affordable housing construction, aiming to increase intermediate housing units.

Furthermore, a program launched by the National Development Bank offers subordinated loans for affordable housing, with rents capped at 90% of the average market price for 20 years. This targets young people, families, seniors, and key professions like healthcare workers and teachers.

In France, cooperative housing, though not as prominent as other forms of housing like social housing (HLM), plays a role in the broader landscape of alternative housing models. Cooperative housing involves collective ownership and decision-making, often through Sociétés Coopératives d'Habitat (SCIC), which are less common than other forms of cooperative models. The sector is not as extensively detailed in terms of share of all housing units, but it offers a unique approach to homeownership and community involvement.

The French government focuses primarily on promoting social housing and affordability through initiatives like the SRU law, which mandates at least 25% of housing in urban areas to be social. While specific programs for cooperative housing are not highlighted, the general approach to promoting affordable and sustainable housing could create a supportive environment for cooperative models by encouraging community-driven and sustainable living practices. However, detailed statistics on the share of cooperative housing within the total housing stock are not readily available.