The European Commission has unveiled its first Affordable Housing Plan, setting out guidelines to tackle the bloc’s housing crisis, Politico reports.
The wide-ranging legal package seeks ways to free up funds for new housing construction, and includes a crackdown on short-term rentals and easing administrative procedures for new housing.
Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said Europe must take collective responsibility for the housing crisis affecting millions of Europeans and act to address it. He noted that house prices across the bloc have risen by more than 60% in the past decade, and stressed that housing is not a convenience – it is a fundamental right. Jørgensen warned that if the EU fails, it will give way to extreme political forces.
In an effort to increase the housing stock, the EC plan includes a revision of state aid rules to allow the use of public funds for the construction of new, affordable housing. The new rules would allow national governments to direct funds to homes for middle-class families – a group increasingly excluded from the real estate market.
The plan also includes an European Strategy for Housing Construction to simplify and digitize the permitting process.
Brussels has also called for significant investment in the development of the block construction industry, as well as the introduction of uniform standards for building materials.
To ensure that homes are sold at a fair price, the plan calls for a solution to the widespread problem of speculation. Over the next year, the EC will collect data on the extent of speculation that has led to homes being treated like gold, Bitcoin, or other investments whose sole purpose is to make a profit.
The package of rules also addresses the housing shortage in Europe’s most popular cities and will give national governments and local authorities legal tools to manage the short-term rental market. With a legal act planned for next year, Brussels hopes to help authorities assess where tourist apartments are having a particularly negative impact and offer fair and proportionate solutions. Jørgensen said he could not sit by and watch as locals were evicted from the places they were born or where they want to build their lives.
Local authorities will be able to mitigate the negative impact of short-term rentals
by limiting the number of days a property can be rented out to tourists per year, restricting short-term rentals to certain times of the year or temporarily suspending short-term rental permits.
The plan also addresses vulnerable groups in society, such as young Europeans, who often have to postpone starting an independent life because they cannot afford to live outside the family home.
The EC has also called for funds to be allocated to the construction of social housing to provide housing for those Europeans who are homeless.
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