European housing costs have risen by more than 100% in some EU member states, as the European Economic and Social Committee brought together stakeholders to discuss what it called a housing emergency.
The committee said in a statement on Thursday that the crisis was increasingly affecting young people and vulnerable groups, and that it was preparing new recommendations.
Housing was now also an economic and competitiveness issue, EESC President Séamus Boland said, adding that rising prices and rents were leading young Europeans to postpone moving out.
An estimated 1.28 million people in Europe are living on the street, in shelters or in temporary accommodation, according to figures cited by Boland. Nearly 10,000 people are experiencing homelessness in Brussels, he added.
European Commission Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the EESC’s September 2025 opinion on an affordable housing plan helped shape the Commission’s final plan, and called for it to be put into action.
He listed upcoming steps including an “Affordable Housing Act”, work on a housing simplification package, and the launch of a pan-European investment platform later this year.
He also referred to plans for a housing alliance and a housing summit this year.
Calls for coordinated action and tenant input
Matthew Baldwin, a deputy director-general in the Commission’s energy department and leader of its Housing Task Force, stated political momentum needed to be maintained, according to the EESC’s latest statement.
MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said housing and poverty were closely linked and that EU measures should be fully coordinated, the committee reported.
Marie Linder, President of the International Union of Tenants and the Swedish Tenants’ Union, said tenants’ representatives should be involved in decision-making and pointed to tools including rent stabilisation mechanisms and protections for long-term rental contracts.
The EESC informed it will adopt a new opinion in March, drafted by rapporteur Thomas Kattnig, focused on tackling housing scarcity through affordable, sustainable and family-oriented policies.
Kattnig insisted that policy should prioritise social and limited-profit housing, tackle speculation, and give local and regional administrations tools to make decisions, according to the statement.
Sandra Parthie, President of the EESC Employers’ Group, said high housing costs were pushing workers out of some areas and worsening labour shortages, adding that construction costs, material shortages, lengthy permitting procedures and financing conditions were challenges.
