European Commission workshops on a planned EU Affordable Housing Act have drawn more than 300 replies to a questionnaire and brought together national governments, local authorities and housing stakeholders over the past few weeks.
The sessions focused on the Affordable Housing Act, part of the European Affordable Housing Plan, the Commission revealed on Wednesday.
A first workshop on 17 March included almost 100 government representatives from 25 EU member states.
Participants said any definition of “areas under housing stress” should cover different situations and that solutions should reflect local conditions.
Member states also said they needed to be able to act at local and federal level on housing affordability measures, and raised the issue of clarifying which measures comply with EU law.
Cities and regions discuss short-term rentals
A second workshop on 23 March brought together nearly 150 participants from regions and cities, including representatives from urban and rural areas.
Discussions included the challenges posed by short-term rentals and reasons cities want to regulate them.
Participants also described different ways of identifying areas under housing stress and called for a “multi-level governance” approach — meaning coordination across different layers of government — to define those areas.
Several cities and regions asked for a set of housing measures that are compatible with EU law while taking account of local differences.
A third workshop was open to stakeholders and included 180 representatives from owner or tenant organisations, public and social housing providers, cooperatives, the architecture, construction and renovation sectors, civil society organisations, and short-term rental hosts and platforms.
Participants expressed differing views on the housing crisis but shared a need to increase the supply of long-term social and affordable housing, particularly for primary residents, and called for legal clarity on short-term rentals.
Many stakeholders also raised renovation, repurposing vacant buildings and densification as ways to make better use of existing building stock.
An additional expert workshop on land policies for affordable and social housing was held with the German Economic Institute, with contributions from experts in France, Belgium and Ireland.
The Commission said feedback from the workshops will be used alongside the questionnaire and an EU “call for evidence” — a public consultation inviting views and information — which remains open until 3 April.
