European Union: Rising importance of affordable housing
Last week the European Parliament debated the need for housing in the EU-member states. Based on the "Affordable Housing Initiative” published in October 2023, challenges and future strategies were discussed.
While the political parties in the European Parliament agree in the fact, that the demand for housing is of high relevance, there is discord about the reason for the lack of housing. The regulation of rents, public funding for housing as well as technical and environmental requirements were part of the debate.
In September 2024, Dan Jørgensen, former Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy in Denmark, has been proposed by Ursula von der Leyen as the future EU-commissioner for housing and energy. Valuing the need for (affordable) housing by including the topic in the job description of the upcoming European Commission is a important decision for the construction industry. It is very likely that the industry will benefit from future EU-decisions aiming at the construction of more residential buildings in the European member states. In addition to new construction, the Affordable Housing Strategy aims the refurbishment of existing buildings as well. Accordginly, it is linked closely to the European Green Deal and the energetic renovation of the European building stock.
As data from B+Ls Global Building Monitor shows, the number of dwellings per capita needed is distributed very equal among the EU-member states.
Find more information on EUs affordable housing initiative:
Initial presentation Affordable Housing Initiative (from October 2023)
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