— Europe must collectively take responsibility for the housing crisis affecting millions of our citizens and take appropriate action, said Housing Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, pointing out that property prices across the bloc increased by over 60 percent over the last decade. — Housing is not just a commodity: it is a fundamental right.
To increase the housing stock, the Commission's plan includes changing state aid rulesto explicitly allow the use of public funds to build affordable housing. The new rules will allow national governments to allocate funds to build housing for middle-class families who are increasingly unable to afford property.
In cooperation with the European Investment Bank, national banks and other financial institutions, the Commission will also mobilize public and private funds for new social and affordable housing through a pan-European investment platform. The construction of this type of housing will be listed as a specific target in the National Partnership Plans (NPPs), which member states will use to allocate EU funds allocated to them under the next seven-year EU budget.
To further increase supply, the plan also includes new European housing construction strategy, aimed at simplifying and digitizing permitting processes, which will be complemented by a housing simplification package in 2027.
Brussels is also proposing significant investments in the modernization of the EU construction sector, as well as measures to establish common standards for building materials. Similarly, the Construction Services Act is expected to be presented at the end of 2026, which will enable construction companies to ensure labor and employment standards when providing cross-border services.
Fight against speculation and short-term rental
To ensure that properties are sold at fair prices, the plan proposes tackling the broader problem of speculation through a thorough analysis of the housing market. Over the next year, the Commission will collect data on the scale of this phenomenon, which has led to housing being treated as “gold, bitcoin and other investments made solely for the purpose of making money,” Jorgensen said.
As part of the analysis, Brussels will also examine how speculative practices can be curbed and help national governments develop transparency mechanisms and tax policies to curb market financialization.
The package also deals the problem of housing shortage in the most popular cities in Europegiving national, regional and local authorities legal tools to restrict short-term rentals. Through a legal act due to be adopted next year, Brussels aims to help authorities identify areas negatively affected by tourist housing and develop “justified and proportionate measures”.
EU Commissioner for Housing Dan Jorgensen, Brussels, 15 December 2025Thierry Monasse/Getty Images/Getty Images
— We cannot sit idly bywhile local residents are being pushed out of the housing market in the places where they were born or where they want to build their lives, Jorgensen emphasized. He added that authorities will now be able to limit the impact of short-term rentals by setting limits on the number of overnight stays per year, limiting its operations to certain times of the year or temporarily stopping the issuance of new licenses.
The plan also aims to meet the needs of vulnerable groups, such as young Europeans, who often have to delay starting to live independently because they cannot afford to live outside their family home. To help them, Brussels is proposing to allocate public funds for new student housing, as well as including the Erasmus+ program, which is intended to offer affordable housing solutions for students from less privileged backgrounds.
The Commission also calls for the mobilization of funds to build social housing for homeless Europeans and to promote the so-called the “housing first” model, which has been successful in countries such as Finlandoffering homeless people unconditional permanent housing.
The plan also reintroduces Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's flagship New European Bauhaus program, which aims to provide guidance on how to make building materials, and the new homes and neighborhoods they create, more sustainable and efficient.
