Thanks to EU Housing Commissioner Jørgensen for our productive discussion this week on how to solve Europe’s housing crisis. We talked about why a strong public, cooperative, and social housing sector is Europe’s ace card and the need for:
Better Information
To solve the housing crisis and build resilient, inclusive communities, we need systemic solutions grounded in proven practice. That’s exactly what Housing 2030—a joint initiative by Housing Europe, UNECE, and UN-Habitat—offers.
We can build on what’s already working:
- Cost recovery housing companies make savings by managing the full process from land acquisition to delivery, management, and maintenance,
- Revolving funds make sure public investments work over the long term
- Scalled public, cooperative, and social housing projects give stabillity to housing and construction markets, can reduce pressures on energy grids, and are driving innovation in techological and social innovations – addressing issues from climate change to homelessness.
Better Regulation
Ex-ante evaluations of new, recast, and existing regulation, undertaken in partnership with Housing Europe, the Committee of the Regions, and the Economic and Social Committee, to systematically incorporate the affordable housing perspective in EU legislative drafting, would help make sure that European legislation is delivering at national and regional level.
Better Finance
We need to make sure that EU funds allocated to housing reach the best projects today and tomorrow.
- review EU financial rules which may handicap Member States from addressing the housing crisis
- Ensure that housing remains a priority in this Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the next – and under InvestEU.
- Allow funding for renovation and conversion projects to also cover flanking measures ( such as those addressing accessibility or community outreach)
- Increase the use of ETS II revenues for building renovation and decarbonisation to ensure a just energy transition – in particular but not only – through Social Climate Fund.
- Scale up EIB Support for strategic and structural investment and advisory support in sustainable housing systems
- The new pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing should include targets to increase EIB support and public subsidies to the social, cooperative, and public housing.
- steps should be taken to prevent fiscal rules from penalising long-term housing investment by exempting non-speculative housing investment from deficit rules under the Stability and Growth Pact.
