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What could an EU Commissioner do to tackle the housing crisis?
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has promised MEPs an EU commissioner with a mandate on housing, an area of limited competence for the bloc – how might these new powers be unveiled in practice?
Between 2010 and the end of 2023, average rents in the EU increased by almost 23% and house prices by nearly 48%, leading to protests in cities from Dublin to Amsterdam or Lisbon about the loss of purchasing power.
The lack of affordable housing and the rising cost of living have even featured prominently in national and European election campaigns – so while seeking MEPs’ approval, von der Leyen did her best to address these concerns in her speech to the European Parliament.
“People are struggling to find affordable homes,” the president of the EU executive told the mid-July plenary in Strasbourg. “I want this Commission to support people where it matters most, and if it matters to Europeans, it matters to Europe.”
In her policy guidelines for the next European Commission, von der Leyen stressed the urgency of tackling the housing crisis, proposing the first-ever European affordable housing plan and a commissioner responsible for the policy area, as the Socialists had demanded as a condition for backing her second mandate.
“The Union should deliver a housing plan that not only targets the really needy, but responds to the crisis that affects everyone, you know: so students, single-person families, single parents, young workers…” David Rinaldi, policy director at the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), told Euronews.
But so far there is a significant investment gap in social and affordable housing, and member states can only use public funds to target the most vulnerable groups.
“In terms of state aid, we would like to see the recognition of social and affordable housing for all – beyond disadvantaged groups or social groups with fewer opportunities – as a service of general economic interest,” said Christophe Rouillon, president of the PES group in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
Housing has not been a priority in EU-level discussions, and housing ministers only resumed joint discussions on European challenges in this policy area in 2022 after a decade of stalemate – but socialists, the left and civil society organisations insist that much more can be done at EU level to tackle this crisis, starting with a commissioner or vice-president with a mandate to promote dialogue and investment.
“The EU can influence housing through financial regulation, competition law, energy efficiency, regulatory and planning standards, cohesion policy, climate action, urban/rural and social policies,” added Rouillon.
To address the growing investment gap, von der Leyen’s policy plans will also include a review of state aid rules to give member states more flexibility to support housing, as well as a proposal to allow member states to double planned cohesion policy investment in affordable housing.
“We will work with the European Investment Bank on a pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing to attract more private and public investment,” the policy programme says.
More money will come from the Social Climate Fund, which will mobilise at least €86.7bn between 2026 and 2032 for actions and investments to support the most vulnerable groups, the EU executive president claimed.
Regulate short-term rentals like Airbnb, demand socialists
Some of the Social Democrats’ key proposals on housing, including binding targets to progressively eliminate homelessness by 2029 and a legislative initiative to regulate short-term rentals, were not included in the president’s policy programme.
“For some people, it (Airbnb and other platforms) is a source of income, but it should not somehow threaten the quality of life in a city,” Rinaldi said, as the rise in housing and rental prices leads some citizens to move out of urban centres.
On average in the EU, 19.6% of people’s disposable income was spent on housing in 2022 – but for those considered at risk of poverty (with a disposable income below 60% of the national median income), housing costs accounted for almost 38% of their disposable income.
The FEPS policy director stressed that the bloc could provide guidelines and a framework for urban centres to build on the success of some local initiatives, such as the restrictive measures introduced in Barcelona to tackle the housing crisis.
As for tackling homelessness, which affects an estimated 890,000 people across the EU, according to a 2023 report published by FEANTSA, there is still no concrete proposal on the political programme.
Housing is also an issue where it is important to share good practices, argued MEP Li Andersson (Finland/The Left), chair of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, in an interview with Euronews.
“There are countries, for example Finland, that have worked a lot on homelessness and have had quite good results for a long time, so it shows that these kinds of social problems can be solved,” she said.
“Homelessness is a housing issue, the most urgent one,” FEANTSA director Freek Spinnewijn wrote on X following von der Leyen’s announcement of a housing commissioner, adding: “Make sure the fight against homelessness is part of her/his responsibilities.”
Von der Leyen has given member states until 30 August to nominate two candidates for the college of commissioners for the next five-year mandate. Only then will she decide who will head which portfolio – and what powers they will have.