Commission consults on the Affordable Housing Act

Over the past few weeks, the Commission hosted a series of workshops with Member States, regions, cities, stakeholders and academia on the Affordable Housing Act, one of the key initiatives of the European Affordable Housing Plan. The workshops were organised on the basis of a detailed questionnaire, which closed on 29 March with more than 300 replies.

The first workshop on 17 March gathered almost 100 government representatives from 25 Member States. All Member States agreed that the definition of areas under housing stress should cater for many different situations, and that solutions must be tailored to the local context. Regarding measures to ensure housing affordability, the Member States emphasised the need to be able to act at the local and federal level. They also expressed an interest in clarifying measures that comply with EU law.

Regions and cities gathered for the second workshop on 23 March with nearly 150 participants in total, ensuring that both urban perspectives and rural perspectives were represented. The discussion highlighted the challenges posed by short-term rentals in different contexts, as well as the reasons why cities wish to regulate them. It emphasised the variety of approaches to identifying areas under housing stress and called for a multi-level governance framework to define these areas. Several cities and regions underlined the need for a toolbox of measures that are compatible with EU law and take account of the different local contexts.

The third workshop, which was open to all stakeholders and included 180 representatives of owner or tenant organisations, providers of public, social, cooperative, affordable housing, professionals from the architectural, construction and renovation sector, civil society organisations, as well as short-term rental hosts and platforms. The workshop highlighted the differing perspectives on the housing crisis among the various stakeholders but also demonstrated a shared understanding of the need to increase the supply of long-term social and affordable housing, particularly for primary residents, as well as the need for legal clarity regarding short-term rentals. Many stakeholders highlighted the priority of a better use of the existing building stock through renovation, repurposing vacant buildings and densification.

The Commission, together with the German Economic Institute also organised an expert workshop on land policies for affordable and social housing. The workshop featured practical insights from experts from France, Belgium and Ireland, and provided an opportunity to exchange views on local and national policy options and experiences.

The insights gathered during the workshops will help the Commission in shaping the Affordable Housing Act, together with the detailed questionnaire and the call for evidence, which is open until 3 April.