{"id":119854,"date":"2026-03-10T16:08:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=119854"},"modified":"2026-03-10T16:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:08:54","slug":"eu-housing-vision-falls-short-on-affordability-and-sustainability-once-again-ngo-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/eu-housing-vision-falls-short-on-affordability-and-sustainability-once-again-ngo-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"EU\u00a0housing vision\u00a0falls short on affordability\u00a0and\u00a0sustainability\u00a0once again,\u00a0NGO warns\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the European Parliament\u00a0voted\u00a0today\u00a0on its housing report,\u00a0the European Environmental Bureau (EEB)\u00a0warns\u00a0that the\u00a0EU solutions for housing are far from the bold leadership\u00a0needed\u00a0to\u00a0address Europe’s\u00a0deepening\u00a0housing,\u00a0energy\u00a0and climate\u00a0crises.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Parliament’s report\u00a0contains\u00a0some positive elements\u00a0such as\u00a0calling for\u00a0renovation\u00a0<\/span>funds,\u00a0as well as\u00a0measures to\u00a0monitor\u00a0building use\u00a0and\u00a0incentives\u00a0for the\u00a0reduction of vacancies\u00a0– acknowledging\u00a0that we can build without\u00a0taking up\u00a0new lands.\u00a0<\/span>But ultimately, the\u00a0text\u00a0fails to\u00a0deliver the\u00a0paradigm shift\u00a0that\u00a0EU Commission\u2019s\u00a0housing advisory board\u00a0has called for\u00a0in November 2025\u00a0[1].\u00a0Instead,\u00a0similar to the\u00a0Commission\u2019s\u00a0Affordable Housing Plan\u00a0[2],\u00a0the report\u00a0prioritises\u00a0more and faster construction\u00a0with a \u201cHousing Simplification Package\u201d,\u00a0which risks weakening\u00a0health and\u00a0nature laws\u00a0despite buildings being the EU sector with the largest environmental footprint [3].<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEuropeans need housing and energy laws that are put into work – not fewer protections. Today\u2019s housing and energy crises stem from a poorly regulated market that prioritises profit over affordability and sustainability,\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0said\u00a0<\/span>Sonja Leyvraz, Policy Officer for Buildings and Circular Economy at the EEB<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The\u00a02025\u00a0Eurobarometer survey\u00a0[4]\u00a0found that lack of affordable housing is the most pressing issue for people living in cities, with 88% believing energy renovations could improve affordability. Yet the Parliament’s report\u00a0does little\u00a0to\u00a0vocalise\u00a0their support for\u00a0tenants’\u00a0rights,\u00a0or\u00a0curb\u00a0the\u00a0financialisation\u00a0of\u00a0housing\u00a0despite\u00a0recommendations from\u00a0advisory\u00a0board\u00a0[1],\u00a0and\u00a0social and environmental\u00a0organisations\u00a0[5].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0lack solutions\u00a0for affordable and energy efficient homes for all;\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0just not pursuing them at full throttle.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i>says Leyvraz,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cThis is not the time to weaken the rules in the name of \u2018simplification\u2019,\u00a0but to strengthen and use the\u00a0legal tools we have,\u00a0so Europe\u00a0can\u00a0deliver\u00a0high-quality,\u00a0energy-efficient\u00a0and\u00a0decarbonised\u00a0homes, with strong safeguards to protect vulnerable households.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alongside the housing vote, the EU\u00a0Commission today presented its Citizens Energy Package [6], proposing measures to address energy affordability and energy poverty. The package includes steps to strengthen action on energy poverty, such as new funding through the LIFE programme and updated recommendations to EU countries, as well as efforts to provide upfront financing for low- and middle-income households to support renovations. While these initiatives are welcomed by the EEB, they only address part of the challenge. Stronger protections and targeted measures are still\u00a0needed to support tenants and low-income families\u00a0–\u00a0not just property owners\u00a0–\u00a0and to ensure the transition to energy-efficient homes benefits those most in need.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ENDS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Note to editors:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0<\/span>Housing Advisory Board recommendations to the European Commission<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0The European Housing Advisory Board was\u00a0established\u00a0in June 2025 with a one-year mandate to\u00a0assist\u00a0the European Commission in producing an Affordable Housing Plan. The Board is made up of fifteen volunteers with various backgrounds in housing research, education, finance, and public provision.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0<\/span>EU Commission’s Affordable Housing Plan,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0published December 2025<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0European Environmental Agency\u2019s report\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAddressing the environmental and climate footprint of buildings\u201d<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0<\/span>Eurobarometer<\/span><\/a>\u202f(from June 2025)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0<\/span>17 social and environmental organisations\u2019 recommendations for the European Affordable Housing Plan<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Citizens Energy Package<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the European Parliament\u00a0voted\u00a0today\u00a0on its housing report,\u00a0the European Environmental Bureau (EEB)\u00a0warns\u00a0that the\u00a0EU solutions for housing are far from the bold leadership\u00a0needed\u00a0to\u00a0address Europe’s\u00a0deepening\u00a0housing,\u00a0energy\u00a0and climate\u00a0crises.\u00a0 The Parliament’s report\u00a0contains\u00a0some [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":119857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138,4,137],"tags":[1010,700,810,278,1009,1012],"class_list":["post-119854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-circular-economy","category-press-release","category-resource-efficiency","tag-affordable-housing","tag-buildings","tag-decarbonise-buildings","tag-energy-efficiency","tag-housing","tag-renovation"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/jacek-urbanski-GvLTLp8tIkw-unsplash-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}