Delivering the European Affordable Housing Plan
Siobhán Nic Thighearnáin from the European Commission’s Housing Task Force discusses how the European Affordable Housing Plan, published in December 2025, aims to deliver the Commission’s housing goals.
Currently, 1.6 million new units are built every year across the European Union, with an additional 650,000 units needed per year over the next 10 years at a cost of €150 billion. “It is all about activation,” says Nic Thighearnáin, who adds that “implementation is where we are at”.
A post-electoral survey by the European Parliament following the 2024 European elections analysed the most common reasons that encouraged people to vote. It found that 42 per cent voted due to rising prices, with the cost-of-living being the most common reason.
Nic Thighearnáin says “housing is a big part of that” along with energy. She says that young people in particular are affected by this along with vulnerable groups such as the elderly.
A 2025 European Commission study found that a lack of affordable housing is the most pressing issue for citizens in cities, towns, and suburbs. Nic Thighearnáin illustrates the impact of widespread calls for EU action with political parties advocating for change in their manifestos and calls to action from across society.
In 2024, member states signed the Liège Declaration which affirmed that access to “affordable, decent, and sustainable housing for all in the European Union” is a fundamental right of EU citizens.
Additionally, the April 2024 report by former Italian Minister Enrico Letta, Much More Than A Market, called for the establishment of a housing task force. Nic Thighearnáin says the report “identified housing as a critical factor impeding freedom of movement”.
In July 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she would appoint a commissioner with direct responsibility for housing, later appointing Dan Jørgensen. She also committed to the development of the European Affordable Housing Plan.
“The task force’s role is very much in coordinating and mobilising all elements of the Commission to do their bit,” says Nic Thighearnáin.
“Everyone has a piece to play in the housing issue because it is not just about the bricks and mortar. It is about having the skills, putting in the wraparound services. It is about having the organisations to actually do the work.”
Nic Thighearnáin praises Denmark for engaging with the task force during its EU presidency and says she expects Ireland to do the same when it takes over the presidency later in 2024.
She outlines how the landscape has changed between 2013 and 2024. House prices in nominal terms have increased by more than 60 per cent across the EU, growing faster than household income. Average rents have grown by around 20 per cent, with new rents having grown significantly more.
Furthermore, residential buildings permits are down by 22 per cent since 2021, around 20 per cent of dwellings are unoccupied, with currently more than one million homeless people including 400,000 children across the EU. This results in social disruption and isolation, economic growth and mobility constraints, implications for health and wellbeing, and environmental concerns.
“Everything is going up where it should not and everything is going down where it should not,” says Nic Thighearnáin.
There are multiple problems that must be addressed to achieve this. Investment in housing construction and renovation declined between 2022 and 2024, and residential building permits are down by 22 per cent since 2021. In the construction sector, productivity and innovation capacity are declining, the cost of construction products has increased, and there are labour and skills shortages.
Regulations around planning, zoning, land management, and permitting are fragmented and hinder permit obtaining which has a financial impact on construction projects. Additionally, land remains scarce and is a costly resource for housing. Nic Thighearnáin asserts that better use of the existing building stock is needed, as around 20 per cent of dwellings and 9.7 per cent of offices are unoccupied.
Delivering affordable housing
The European Affordable Housing Plan is built on four pillars, the first of which is ‘boosting housing supply’. Under this pillar, the plan aims to facilitate the strengthening of productivity and innovation in construction; cut red tape to accelerate supply; and combine affordability, sustainability, and quality in housing.
“Cutting red tape could be a game-changer if the Commission gets it right,” says Nic Thighearnáin.
The second pillar is ‘mobilising investment’ and includes the revision of State aid rules to enable funding of social and affordable housing. It also sets an intention for the delivery of a pan-European investment platform.
The third pillar, ‘enabling immediate support while driving reforms’, aims to address short-term rentals in areas under housing stress, reduce speculation in the housing market, and drive forward structural reform in member states.
Nic Thighearnáin explains that the Commission aims to progress affordable housing legislation in 2026. This is to contain measures to address short-term rentals and give member states options “to deal with them in a proportionate way”.
Under the fourth pillar, ‘protecting the most affected’, the plan aims to provide housing for young people, and address homelessness and support households and tenants in vulnerable situations.
The European Housing Alliance acts as the plan’s governance structure. Nic Thighearnáin explains that there will be a housing summit at some point in 2026, adding that it has become a political priority across member states.
“The other really important piece is the European Strategy for Housing Construction. Here we are talking about skills, modern methods of construction, digitalisation, simplification of the building permitting process,” says Nic Thighearnáin.
