Reports & briefings

At a time when so many households in Europe are unable to find decent and affordable housing, and when European nations are taking their responsibility for finding suitable accommodation for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war of aggression, the prevalence of long-term vacant dwellings is simply not something that society should be willing to accept.

The evolving landscape of urban areas across Europe, has illuminated the critical role of investing in people to foster inclusive, resilient communities. This is why Housing Europe Senior Policy Officer Edit Lakatos and Policy Assistant Johanne Philippe prepared this brief note with the goal of showcasing in a positive light good practices from around Europe in addressing this issue.

During the two years that have passed since the previous edition of Housing Europe’s flagship publication ‘The State of Housing in Europe’, many developments that no one would have thought possible happened. The situation caused by the global pandemic was intensified by a war, a new migration wave and an energy crisis. The data gathered from 17 countries confirms the alarming circumstances, but at the same time it provides solutions that were applied within the sector as a response to all these factors.

'State of Housing in Europe' is the flagship biennial publication of the Housing Europe Observatory and its 2023 edition was officially launched in English on 20th of June.

Cost-based social rental housing is a success story. It has helped those social providers who make use of this model of rent setting — such as in Austria, Denmark, and Finland — to better ensure their long-term capacity to develop new affordable housing and meet unexpected investment needs, such as renovations or engaging with the necessary energy transition. This research was commissioned and funded by The Housing Agency, Ireland and led by the Housing Europe Observatory.

The Observatory of Housing Europe presents volume 5 of the series 'Housing in the post-2020 EU'. This edition highlights how public, cooperative and social housing providers accommodate the elderly by tackling other social phenomenons, such as social isolation, digital connectivity, delivery of health and care services, and more. The briefing also brings to the surface the lessons learnt for policymakers, as well as what could the EU do to ensure that people are allowed to age well at home.

The sale of social and public housing has existed in many different forms in Europe for decades and this research is a step towards a better understanding of the experiences of other countries with regard to the sale of social and public housing.

'State of Housing in Europe' is the flagship biennial publication of the Housing Europe Observatory and its 2021 edition was officially launched in English on 26th March.

On the 7th of July, the Housing Europe Observatory published its latest research report – Delivery on Housing in Ireland. The report was commissioned by Barry Andrews, MEP for the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament.

The Observatory of Housing Europe presents volume 4 of the series 'Housing in the post-2020 EU'. This edition explores the issue of Housing First from the perspective of housing provider members of Housing Europe that have experience with the implementation of this model of homeless service provision.

The immediate effect of the increase in the purchasing power of households, as they save on housing costs; alleviating poverty, providing homes to households on low incomes at rates that they can better afford; better health outcomes are some of the key outcomes that we should take into account when we speak about social and affordable housing. Read this brief which shows why investment in public, cooperative, and social housing has a significant payback to our society.

Housing Europe Observatory, the Research Branch of Housing Europe inaugurates a series of research briefings under the title 'Housing in the post-2020 EU' focusing on the ways public, cooperative and social housing providers address the key societal challenges of our times.

The shocking invasion of Ukraine has brought about an extraordinary set of circumstances throughout Europe – a refugee and energy crisis, on top of a health pandemic crisis, on top of an already deepened affordable housing crisis. The challenges ahead of us are growing. In this brief update of our biannual State of Housing in Europe report we reflect on the current challenges and responses from the public, cooperative and social housing sector.

After a year into the global health pandemic, Housing Europe’s ‘State of Housing 2021’ report provides a first analysis of the impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on public, cooperative, social housing and our communities. The flagship publication produced by the Federation’s Housing Observatory illustrates the alarming housing reality in 21 countries and offers concrete policy recommendations on how to overcome substantial challenges to decent, sustainable, inclusive, affordable housing.