Housing crisis still on! An EU Action Plan for affordable housing is needed
Housing Europe presents ‘The State of Housing in the EU’ 2019
Brussels, 1 October 2019 | Published in Energy, Urban, Economy, Social, Research
The Housing Europe Observatory, the research branch of Housing Europe celebrates its 25th anniversary by presenting the latest edition of its flagship report ‘The State of Housing in the EU’ that has become over the last years the biennial compass of Europe’s housing sector.
Europe’s housing crisis, already identified in the 2015 and 2017 editions of the ‘State of Housing in the EU’ is still a reality many countries are confronted with. What we have seen, in the meantime, is that although this is clearly a structural problem it continues to be addressed by decision makers with a patchwork of, often costly, policy solutions. The Von der Leyen Commission is taking office at a time when Europe is confronted with a much-neglected housing crisis.
“This report comes as a follow up to the recent International Social Housing Festival in Lyon to provide solid proof to our claim that the EU needs an affordable housing action plan that should be among the priorities of the new European Commission. The national policies as well as the European agenda in multiple housing-related areas are more than ever intertwined with the local dimension, therefore we are convinced that housing should be the vehicle for the actual implementation of the European Pillar for Social Rights”, says Housing Europe President, Cédric Van Styvendael.
The role of cities in determining housing policies and ultimately housing conditions of their inhabitants has become a key policy topic in recent years. The report shows how this is due on the one hand to increasing evidence showing that cities, in Europe and beyond, are the places where the shortage of affordable housing is mostly concentrated and on the other to a number of city-led policy initiatives in the field of housing. At the same time, the role of social and affordable housing providers continues to evolve, going beyond just housing provision reacting to changing needs.
Overall, the ‘State of Housing in the EU 2019’ report
- illustrates the housing affordability trends all over Europe
- showcases the shift in governance around housing from the local to the European level
- explains the changes in the financing status quo making the case for investment in affordable housing and
- comes with 22 country profiles that allow a unique comparative analysis of the housing markets in Europe.
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