Regions and cities welcome the first EU Affordable Housing Plan

European Committee of the Regions says that stronger support and long-term EU investment will be needed

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Kata Tüttő, and the CoR’s rapporteur on Housing Plan, Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, had welcomed the publication today of the Affordable Housing Plan by the European Commission. 

CoR President Kata Tüttő said: “After years of mobilisation, we welcome this first-ever EU Affordable Housing Plan. The initiative is addressing a major concern for EU citizens. Prices have gone up right across Europe, making it difficult for many to find a home. Yet the average also hides larges disparities and local housing stress linked to speculation or mass-tourism. With the Affordable Housing Plan, the EU takes a first step, in full respect of the subsidiarity principle. Smarter rules on state aid and a greater mobilisation of EU funds can really help regional and local leaders at work to make affordable housing available for their citizens. The announced pan-European Investment Platform, the further promotion of the Housing First approach to homelessness, and better regulation of short-term rentals are also crucial to deliver quickly more housing solutions at the local level.”

“But to make this work continue over the coming decade, the next EU long-term budget must allow regions and cities to shape and deliver interventions that address the housing crisis both in the short term and in the longer term, easing the pressure on large urban areas and promoting the strategic role of smaller and middle-size towns.”

The CoR’s rapporteur on the ‘Role of cities and regions in the EU Affordable Housing Plan’, Jaume Collboni (ES/PES), Mayor of Barcelona, said: “We welcome the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan released today by the European Commission. It represents a fundamental milestone towards addressing the housing crisis at EU level, as housing constitutes the principal source of social inequality. We particularly appreciate the emphasis on areas of housing stress and look forward to the Affordable Housing Act to continue moving towards the protection of the right to housing in our cities.”

The CoR's rapporteur on ‘Smart, sustainable and affordable housing as a tool for local authorities to face multiple challenges’, Andres Jaadla (EE/Renew Europe), city councillor of Rakvere said: “We welcome the EU’s Affordable Housing Plan. Housing innovation is happening in pockets across Europe, but too often municipalities reinvent the wheel instead of learning from each other. We need an EU Housing Agenda, with annual summits and dedicated platforms for sharing solutions—from modular retrofits in Estonia to cooperative models in Scandinavia. By connecting these experiments, we can accelerate innovation and avoid costly duplication.

Ultimately, this crisis cannot be solved from the top down. It will be solved from the ground up, in town halls and municipal councils, by mayors and regional governments. If they are given the tools and the freedom to act, Europe can indeed turn the housing crisis into an opportunity: to modernise its building stock, create inclusive communities, and advance towards a sustainable future."

The CoR was among the first EU institutions to call for stronger and more decisive action at European level to tackle the housing crisis, which affects millions of European citizens. This position has been clearly set out in two recent CoR opinions in which local and regional leaders called for urgent action to address this challenge, which in turn echoed the messages set out in an earlier opinion adopted in 2017. Housing is also one of the CoR’s priorities for the 2025–2030 mandate.    

Background

•  In October, the President of the CoR met with the President of the European Council, António Costa, ahead of the first European Council meeting to include the housing crisis on its agenda. President Tüttő underlined the urgent need for coordinated action to promote affordable and accessible housing across the EU.
• As a next step to help identify challenges and solutions based on local and regional experience, as the level of governance that is required to deal directly with the challenges of this crisis, the local and regional authorities represented in the CoR will work on the range of topics addressed by the EU Affordable Housing Plan and the associated EU initiatives from early 2026 onwards.
• The CoR opinion on ‘Role of cities and regions in the EU Affordable Housing Plan’ by rapporteur Jaume Collboni (ES/PES), Mayor of Barcelona (May 2025). Press release. Factsheet on housing with spotlight on Barcelona.
• The CoR opinion on ‘Smart, sustainable and affordable housing as a tool for local authorities to face multiple challenges’ by rapporteur Andres Jaadla (EE/Renew Europe), city councillor of Rakvere (April 2024).