2024
Housing Europe
The document titled "A European Manifesto to Lead the Way Out of the Housing Crisis," published by Housing Europe, addresses the urgent housing challenges facing Europe today. Released in the context of the European elections in June 2024, it highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and rising living costs have exacerbated a pre-existing housing crisis. With millions facing housing insecurity and homelessness, the manifesto serves as a call to action for policymakers at all levels to prioritize housing solutions. The manifesto outlines three key pillars for a new housing paradigm. First, it emphasizes the need to recognize public, cooperative, and social housing as foundational to national housing systems. Reforming EU fiscal rules and addressing the negative impacts of short-term rental platforms are essential steps in this direction. Second, the document advocates for a fair energy transition within the housing sector, promoting low-carbon housing and simplifying access to EU funding streams linked to social criteria. Lastly, the manifesto stresses the importance of addressing the root causes of housing exclusion and homelessness. It proposes long-term partnerships among housing providers, social services, and local authorities to tackle complex support needs. By integrating housing policy with social inclusion and climate action, the manifesto argues for an overarching approach that prioritizes access to decent, affordable housing for all. In conclusion, the manifesto serves as both a diagnosis of Europe's housing crisis and a strategic roadmap for systemic change, urging collective action towards a socially just and sustainable future for European housing.
Context, Authors, and Publication Date
The document titled "A European Manifesto to Lead the Way Out of the Housing Crisis" was published by Housing Europe, the European Federation of Public, Cooperative and Social Housing. Housing Europe is a network of 42 national and regional federations and 15 partner organizations across 31 European countries, managing around 25 million homes (about 11% of all dwellings in Europe). The manifesto was released in the context of the European elections in June 2024, at a time when Europe faces a severe housing crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising energy and living costs, and longstanding structural issues. The document is intended as a call to action for European, national, and local policymakers.
Key Findings and Summary
The Urgency of the Housing Crisis
- Europe is experiencing its most disruptive period in decades, with the pandemic and geopolitical instability intensifying existing housing challenges.
- Issues such as a lack of affordable housing, rising homelessness, escalating construction costs, social segregation, and energy poverty have all worsened.
- House prices in the EU rose by 50% and rents by 23% between 2010 and 2023, outpacing income growth and pushing even middle-income earners into housing insecurity.
- Nearly 9.6 million young adults (aged 25-34) in the EU were still living with their parents in 2022, a sign of deepening affordability issues.
- Homelessness has increased by 70% from 2010 to 2020, with approximately 900,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the EU.
Three Pillars for a New Housing Paradigm
The manifesto proposes a three-pronged approach for the EU to address the crisis:
1. Embrace a New Housing Paradigm
- Public, cooperative, social, and community-led housing must be recognized as the backbone of national housing systems.
- EU fiscal and State Aid rules should be reformed to enable long-term social investment in housing.
- Housing exclusion indicators should be integrated into the EU Semester (the EU’s biannual economic and social policy review).
- Legislation should address the negative impact of short-term rental platforms on housing availability and affordability.
- The EU should urgently address the impact of high interest rates and construction costs that slow new social housing delivery.
- A new EU Task Force, led by a European Commission Vice-President, should drive this paradigm shift across policymaking.
2. Back the Movement for a Fair Energy Transition
- The housing sector must play a leading role in Europe’s green transition, balancing renovation and new construction with affordability.
- EU green policies should set targets for low-carbon housing supply, not just renovation.
- Access to the 19 existing EU funding streams for housing should be simplified and linked to social criteria.
- District-level decarbonization should be promoted, focusing on local needs and resources.
- Renovation and circularity should foster local supply chains, job creation, social enterprise, and biodiversity.
- Digital and technological advances should be harnessed for a fair energy transition.
- A transformative fund is proposed to unify and streamline existing financial tools, earmarked for socially responsible renovations.
3. Address the Root Causes to End Housing Exclusion and Homelessness
- The best way to prevent homelessness and housing exclusion is to guarantee access to decent, affordable housing.
- Long-term partnerships between housing providers, social services, and local authorities are essential to address complex support needs (migration, youth, elderly, family breakdown, cost of living).
- Skills development should be supported for all actors in the social and affordable housing sector.
- Housing exclusion should be a core element in EU policy impact assessments.
- EU platforms, such as the European Platform for Combatting Homelessness, should be leveraged to support urgent national and local partnerships.
Overarching Recommendations
- The EU’s regulatory and funding frameworks (including State Aid rules, the Stability and Growth Pact, and the European Semester) significantly shape housing systems and must be reformed to support inclusive and sustainable housing.
- Sharing effective models of inclusive housing within and beyond Europe is vital for progress.
- The manifesto calls for an integrated, cross-sectoral approach, with housing at the center of social inclusion and green transition policies.
Conclusion
The manifesto is both a diagnosis of Europe’s deepening housing crisis and a strategic roadmap for systemic change. It urges policymakers at all levels to adopt a new paradigm that prioritizes public, cooperative, and social housing, integrates housing policy with climate action, and tackles the root causes of exclusion and homelessness. The document positions Housing Europe and its members as key partners in delivering a socially just and sustainable future for European housing.