EEB welcomes EU Affordable Housing Plan, urges a committed delivery for people, nature and climate
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) welcomes the European Commission’s first-ever Affordable Housing Plan [1] as a long-overdue and encouraging step to tackle Europe’s housing crisis, while urging policymakers to focus on quality, affordability and resilience, not just speed and volume.
Across Europe, rents and home prices are stretching households to breaking point. The Commission’s plan – including revised state-aid rules, action on using our current housing stock to its full potential, measures to investigate speculation, and considerations for unhoused people – signals that Brussels is taking the crisis seriously. The EEB applauds this social focus and the recognition that housing is not a commodity, but a fundamental right.
The Commission also rightly stresses the need to make better use of existing buildings – through energy upgrades and renovation, repurposing, tackling vacancy and regulating short-term rentals. But the plan does not yet go far enough in proposing concrete actions to ensure that the potential of these sustainable solutions to provide housing supply is realised.
“Making the best out of our current building stock through energy upgrades, renovations and repurposing are golden opportunities that can help EU governments deliver social, climate and nature goals altogether [2]”, said Sonja Leyvraz, Policy Officer for Circular Economy at the EEB.
The EEB, however, warns that the announced 2027 Housing Simplification Package must not weaken environmental assessments. With Europe’s ecosystems already under severe pressure, weaker protections threaten public health, clean air and water, and resilience to climate risks, and past attempts to dilute nature laws have sparked citizen outrage [3]. The Commission’s own estimates show that poor enforcement of environmental laws already costs Europe around €180 billion annually in health and environmental damage [4].
Finally, the NGO stresses that real solutions to tackle the housing crisis, as called for by social and environmental civil society organisations [5], must address the underlying dynamics of financialisation. The plan acknowledges speculative pressures and takes initial steps to assess their impact on housing costs – a move in the right direction that must be followed by concrete action to keep homes accessible to people, not investors. Any private investment must be carefully guided, with strong safeguards to ensure funding delivers affordable, climate- and nature-friendly housing rather than fueling price hikes or treating homes as financial assets.
EU countries now hold the keys to unlock this potential. Civil society calls on EU leaders to strengthen the plan with clear standards, funding for renovation at scale, safeguards for vulnerable groups and nature, and accountability to ensure recommendations translate into real change on the ground.
“This is a step in the right direction. With substance and ambition, housing can become Europe’s fastest route to fairness, resilience and sustainability. We hope EU countries can rise to the moment,” said Leyvraz.
ENDS
Note to editors:
[1] The European Affordable Housing Plan, published 16 December 2025
[2] Why getting housing right unlocks multiple benefits:
- Affordability and fairness: Renovating and insulating existing homes can be cheaper and faster than new builds, keeps rents down, and delivers warmer homes with lower energy bills.
- Climate action: Energy-efficient housing reduces emissions and shields households from volatile energy prices.
- Nature and resilience: Biodiverse, well-planned living areas mean cleaner air and water, while building with robust environmental monitoring reduces climate-related disasters (e.g. flood risk) that endanger people and erode property values.
- Quality of life: Greener, inclusive neighbourhoods support health, social cohesion and long-term prosperity.
[5] Joint statement from social and environmental actors on the European Affordable Housing Plan
