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Housing

Access to affordable and adequate housing is a major concern in many Member States, in their cities and regions, compounded by the crises of recent years. People facing housing affordability problems are at risk of exclusion, insecurity about having to leave one’s home, being unable to afford other things due to high housing costs and having to remain in housing unsuitable for their needs. With rising living costs comes exposure to energy poverty for lower-income families who are unable to afford keeping their homes adequately warm or to meet rent or mortgage payments. At the same time, homelessness is on the rise in a large majority of Member States. 

Topic

Recent updates

Key messages

  • Housing has emerged as one of Europe’s top challenges with about 1 in 10 European households in cities being overburdened by housing and energy costs.
  • Housing unaffordability is a problem in all EU countries. Problems are concentrated in regions where jobs and services are, and among people new to the housing market. The crisis is also delaying and preventing young people from leaving the parental home.
  • More homes need to be built, but also renovated, and vacant dwellings reduced. It is also key to reduce household energy needs, to connect homes well to green infrastructure, and to enhance social protection and access to services.

Eurofound’s research

Demographic change and climate change, with the transition to a climate neutral economy, calls for Eurofound to provide policymakers with new evidence about the living conditions and social situation of different groups in society and assess their needs for housing.

Through its European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), Eurofound measures the living conditions of people in Europe by investigating a range of factors, including housing, housing cost overburden and housing deprivation. The data on housing include information on tenancy type, and dwelling inadequacies including energy poverty and housing insecurity.

The EQLS investigates the social implications of climate neutrality in terms of acceptance and adoption of sustainable behaviour as well as its impact on the cost of living, housing and energy poverty. New research monitors the possible social impact of the green transition on the cost of living, housing and transport. The next edition of the EQLS commences in 2026.

Eurofound research provides evidence on dynamics and trends of inequalities in Europe among various sociodemographic groups and analyses the uneven impact of cost of living and housing. It also analyses housing problems in the EU and the policies that aim to address them. In particular, as renting has become more prevalent among Europe’s youth, the living conditions of young people and their access to housing is an important part of the research agenda. 

Key outputs

Happy dad, excited kid play in cardboard boxes in new house © Davids C/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock

The European Child Guarantee outlines recommendations for Member States to support effective access to adequate housing for children at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Web page
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Unaffordable housing is a matter of great concern in the EU. It leads to homelessness, housing insecurity, financial strain and inadequate housing. It also prevents young people from leaving their...

30 May 2023
Publication
Research report

EU context

Eurofound’s research on the cost of living, housing conditions, public services and vulnerable groups will support the work of EU policymakers in the monitoring and implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The Pillar aims to promote social protection and inclusion, which includes a drive to end homelessness and address issues around access to affordable quality housing, particularly for persons with disabilities and low-income families faced with energy poverty. In 2025, the European Commission plans to launch a revised Action Plan with initiatives to implement the Pillar. 

Taking up a second mandate in December 2024, the Commission President von der Leyen has outlined ambitious proposals for 2024–2029 to tackle the housing crisis. These include the appointment of the first Commission member whose responsibilities include housing, as well as the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan and a pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing.

Reducing energy costs for households is also an important part of the goals set out in the European Green Deal. In 2021, the European Commission launched the Affordable Housing Initiative as part of the Renovation Wave Strategy, which aims to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030. The Social Climate Fund rollout in the Member States will support resource-efficient renovations and energy-efficient housing.

Eurofound expert(s)

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Hans Dubois is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. His research topics include housing, over-indebtedness, healthcare, long-term care, social...

Senior research manager,
Social policies research unit
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Marie Hyland joined Eurofound as a research officer in the Social Policies unit in 2023. Prior to this, Marie spent several years as an economist at the World Bank, where she...

Research officer,
Social policies research unit
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Sanna Nivakoski is a research officer in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. Before joining Eurofound in 2021, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at University College...

Research officer,
Social policies research unit
Publications results (20)

During the pandemic, many young people had to change their plans for the future. While at the end of 2023 young people’s labour market situation was more favourable than it had been in recent years, many obstacles remained on their route to independence, such as the rising cost of living and

21 May 2024

The European Child Guarantee was established in 2021 to ensure that children in need have access to a set of key services. This policy brief analyses trends and disparities in children’s access to early childhood education and care, education, healthcare, nutrition and housing.

21 September 2023

Unaffordable housing is a matter of great concern in the EU. It leads to homelessness, housing insecurity, financial strain and inadequate housing. It also prevents young people from leaving their family home. These problems affect people’s health and well-being, embody unequal living conditions and

30 May 2023

In collecting information on essential services, the European Commission requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. For thi

07 September 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the accessibility of health, education and care services for all Europeans. This is also the case for children, who in several countries have seen their schools closed and replaced with remote learning. They have been affected, too, by the pandemic’

28 January 2021

Demographic change, social progress and economic cycles have impacted household composition in Europe. This report provides an overview of household types in the European Union, how they have changed over the period 2007–2017 and how household type relates to outcomes in terms of living conditions a

19 December 2019

Nearly 37,000 people in 33 European countries (28 EU Member States and 5 candidate countries) were interviewed in the last quarter of 2016 for the fourth wave of the European Quality of Life Survey. This overview report presents the findings for the EU Member States. It uses information from previou

23 January 2018

This report aims to improve understanding of the true cost of inadequate housing to EU Member States and to suggest policy initiatives that might help address its social and financial consequences.

04 August 2016

Housing-related problems faced by the Roma include high overcrowding rates, lack of access to improved forms of sanitation and high levels of urban segregation thus limiting access to healthcare services. These issues reinforce existing health inequalities among the Roma – increased risk of disabili

28 March 2012

The city of Vienna’s integration policies since the beginning of the 1990s have aimed to achieve equal rights and opportunities for immigrants in all spheres of social and economic, cultural and political life of the local population. Thus, a comprehensive set of measures were implemented to provide

29 September 2009

Online resources results (5)

Quality of life in the EU in 2024: Results from the Living and Working in the EU e-survey

Eurofound’s e-survey captures the situation of European respondents and their post-pandemic concerns. Explore our digital factsheet outlining the most recent data on the main challenges faced by Europeans in 2024.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois about the latest developments in housing and housing policy in Europe. This, the second episode of the series looking specifically at housing, discusses the role of the incoming Commission,

13 November 2024

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Daniel Molinuevo about the European Child Guarantee, how bad the situation is with regard to child poverty and social exclusion in Europe, what Member States have committed to doing about it, what the implicatio

1 May 2024

In this episode Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois on the issues that feed into housing insecurity in Europe, and the actions that need to be taken to address them. Together, they analyse findings from Eurofound’s recent Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Eu

15 June 2023

Households in debt: one outcome of the crisis

A desire to preserve tradition and usual practice means that owning a house is viewed as a necessity in Hungary. People are very unwilling to let or rent their homes and the relevant legislation is not sufficiently developed. Government initiatives tend to deal more with the acquisition or buildi

Blogs results (2)

The housing crisis could be tackled by improving public services, better urban planning and ensuring that social protection benefits reach the people who need them most.

2 May 2024
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Spiralling housing costs are causing despair across the EU. The situation is making people anxious that they will lose their accommodation or become homeless; they may become overburdened financially or forced to live in substandard accommodation; and many young people are unable to leave home. Whil

4 April 2023
Upcoming publications results (2)

Europe is faced with a housing crisis that affects people of all ages, however younger people are disproportionately impacted. Many young adults are unable to afford their own home, often having to remain living in their parental home. This crisis has wide-reaching consequences, influencing opportun

December 2025
Forthcoming
Publication
Research report
Data results (20)

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