Cities Forum 2025 - How the EU is supporting affordable and social housing for a fairer future

The European Commission recognizes affordable housing as a fundamental need and social right, essential for improving life opportunities and ensuring regional cohesion. A comprehensive European affordable housing plan (EAHP) is under preparation, with cities, of all sizes, playing a key role in its design and implementation. The Housing Taskforce will be working with diverse stakeholders to form a clear agenda for affordable housing that builds on existing synergies and includes a financial instrument (in collaboration with the EIB). While Cohesion Policy (CP) and associated resources will be crucial, Member States will need to actively take up the (newly doubled) affordable housing CP investment capacity. Given the different developmental stages of affordable housing delivery in Member States, capacity building activities and peer learning exchanges are needed on topics such as funding management, legal frameworks, and project design.

The Mid-Term review of Cohesion Policy, recommends keeping publicly funded housing in perpetual public use, simplifying renovation/retrofit procedures, and building construction capacity by skilling up workers. Multiple dimensions of housing need, from those related to labour mobility, to homelessness, to energy poverty and finance will need to be addressed by the EAHP.

The European Affordable Housing Plan needs to consider regional specificities across Europe and its Member States that shape housing needs and affect the capacity of local authorities to deliver affordable housing.

Cities need support to unlock their potential using strategic instruments such as land funds, long-term lease contracts, zoning laws, and eviction prevention programs to improve affordable housing provision, as Vienna demonstrates. However, significant financial and technical assistance from the EU (including peer learning and capacity building) is also needed.

Sustainable urban living requires strong local leadership  and to pay attention to community building, as well as a balanced approach that addresses diverse housing needs. Workers’ housing, responses to homelessness, housing energy efficiency, housing finance, and social cohesion are key priorities. Aligning those with  NEB values of sustainability, aesthetics, inclusiveness is crucial.

The housing crisis must be tackled through a cohesive, cross-sectoral approach.

Housing policy must be:

• Socially inclusive, addressing both vulnerable populations and working households.
• Environmentally sustainable, linked with energy efficiency goals.
• City-centred, empowering local governments with the tools and funding needed to act.

The European Affordable Housing Plan, expected to launch in the next quarter, is being shaped by urban actors and EU institutions. It represents a first step toward broader systemic reform, supported by a proposal to double EU Cohesion Policy funding for affordable housing.

A public consultation on the EAHP will open shortly: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14670-European-affordable-housing-plan_en.

Discussions during the session highlighted several key priorities that should be reflected in the upcoming EU Agenda for Cities, alongside the European Affordable Housing Plan. These include the urgency of addressing affordability (both property prices and rentals), expanding the scope of affordable housing, regulating housing markets and short-term rentals, and boosting investment in energy retrofitting.

Speakers stressed the need to strengthen publicly owned social housing, support housing-first approaches to homelessness, and ensure access to housing for low-income groups and key workers. The development of social rental agencies and financial intermediaries was also seen as essential.

Participants called for a clear framework for city participation in policy design, for targeted technical assistance, and support for peer learning, highlighting good practices from Finland, Denmark (Housing First), and France and Vienna (strong social housing models). The EU should also help fill key evidence gaps and the exchange of good practices between Member States.