Housing – The EU needs a bolder strategy for construction

This article is brought to you in association with the European Economic and Social Committee.

The EESC continues to push for an end to Europe’s housing crisis. In a new opinion, it argues that, to achieve more affordable housing, the EU needs a number of urgent measures, including: a better strategy for land use and rural areas, much more investment and public funding linked to clear social criteria, faster planning and permitting procedures through digitalisation, the right workforce and skills, and modern construction methods.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is once again pressing the EU institutions to urgently address the structural housing crisis unfolding across Europe, and is calling on the European Commission to set out the details of the announced initiatives without delay and to adopt even more ambitious measures.

In the opinion adopted at the July plenary session and drawn up by Thomas Kattnig, the Committee welcomes the Strategy for Housing Construction included in the Affordable Housing Plan. However, it urges the Commission to take immediate action in particular to:

• set the necessary framework conditions for construction to serve as a catalyst for affordable, sustainable and high-quality housing;
• include a right to adequate and affordable housing in EU primary law;
• identify sufficient funding;
• focus more on vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, older people, young people and families with children; and
• emphasise sustainability.

‘Europe needs a fresh start in housing construction and this must be affordable, innovative, sustainable and socially just,’ said Mr Kattnig. ‘Europe must finally take action. We need more housing and above all more affordable housing. Not luxury residential projects but homes that families, young people and workers can actually afford.’

Supporting housing construction

Housing is not a luxury but a basic right. Yet, for an increasing number of people across Europe, this very fundamental right has become unaffordable. For years, too little affordable housing has been built, and the result is that there is a shortfall of around 650 000 homes every year. At the same time, rents have gone up by almost 30% since 2010 whereas property prices have risen by more than 60% since 2013.

In the EESC’s view, housing support must, depending on the case in question, prioritise conversions, renovations and new builds and promote climate-neutral and resource-efficient construction methods, collective housing and alternative approaches to mobility that improve people’s quality of life.

To tackle the housing crisis, the Committee stresses the need for urgent measures in a number of areas:

1) Setting up a rural development strategy

The EESC criticises the lack of clear land-use and spatial planning guidance in the Commission’s strategy, together with the risks of urban sprawl and the limited role for cities, regions and local authorities. This is why the Committee backs an effective rural development strategy and the use of tried-and-tested tools, including mandatory shares of subsidised affordable housing.

2) Increasing funding

When it comes to financing, the EESC recommends increased public and private investment in affordable, social and limited-profit housing. Public and EU financing should prioritise housing systems that secure long-term affordability through cost-rent structures, reinvestment obligations and limited-profit governance. All this should be reflected in the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF), with a Europe-wide investment platform for affordable housing and a specific budget line. At national level, Member States should submit individual housing plans with clear targets and monitoring.

3) Simplifying and digitalising residential permitting and administrative procedures

The EESC supports streamlining procedures, but in each case it is important to check whether this is proportionate to the objective set. In general, simplifying procedures must never result in lower social, environmental, safety or labour standards, but rather lead to easier and better enforcement of existing standards.

Digitalisation is a key driver for faster housing construction because it can reduce administrative burdens, increase predictability, improve efficiency and support SMEs. However, it should not be limited to construction projects, but be used to strengthen labour rights enforcement, job quality, working conditions and the consumer interest.

4) Ensuring access to services and skills

The EESC also points out that it is crucial to make the construction sector more attractive. Labour shortages cannot be solved through labour mobility alone. Rather, the sector must be made more attractive through fair wages, adequate social protection, lifelong learning, retraining, occupational pension schemes, and high health and safety standards. Social dialogue and programmes jointly managed by employers’ and workers’ representatives are best practices for attracting and retaining skilled workers. At the same time, the modernisation and industrialisation of the sector should create safer, cleaner and less physically demanding jobs and so attract more young people and women.

5) Supporting innovation to scale up construction

Finally, accelerating innovation will enable faster, more reliable, more sustainable and cheaper construction, and will make skilled trades more attractive. Against this backdrop, the Committee welcomes the plan to step up the development of standards for construction products under the new Construction Products Regulation and is in favour of a stronger EU role in international standardisation bodies.

Background – The EU Strategy for Housing Construction

The European Commission’s communication The European Strategy for Housing Construction: a more competitive and productive construction industry was unveiled in December 2025 as part of the European Affordable Housing Plan.

The strategy feeds into the Commission’s broader effort to address the EU’s housing crisis and aims to create framework conditions for increasing the supply of repurposed, renovated and new housing. The communication outlines the current situation and the main gaps faced by the construction sector, proposing measures to facilitate and increase its productivity and competitiveness.

More specifically, the strategy aims to:

• strengthen the competitiveness of the construction ecosystem;
• simplify and digitalise the ecosystem;
• accelerate innovation and modernise the construction market;
• ensure stable access to construction materials;
• ensure access to services and improve skills (including skills shortages).