What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Changed:53.55. Believes that it is necessary to promote a European action plan for the support of families, paying particular attention to large families, single-parent families and those in vulnerable situations who struggle with housing insecurity; calls on the Commission and the Member States to integrate family housing needs into the European Affordable Housing Plan and the European Child Guarantee, ensuring that no child grows up in inadequate housing; acknowledges the existence of a generational housing gap, as delayed access to housing restricts the ability of younger generations to live independently and make free life choices, and aggravates Europe’s demographic challenges; recalls that housing is a key factor in supporting demographic dynamics and addressing demographic decline, particularly in regions facing population loss and out-migration; warns that inadequate housing policy undermines demographic growth within the EU; recalls that Europe is an ageing continent, representing a challenge for the housing sector; asks the Commission to include adaptation to ageing in all its housing-related policies calls for housing policies that ensure timely access to affordable housing, reduce unhealthy housing and promote stability for families across all life stages; encourages the Member States to incorporate demographic priorities into their national housing strategies and upcoming EU funding programmes; calls on the Member States to introduce targeted financial incentives for families to facilitate home ownership and long-term rental contracts, thereby easing their financial burden, positively influencing demographic trends and strengthening social stability in Europe; calls on the Member States to fully involve local and regional authorities in developing targeted housing programmes for families; recognises that private home savings funds are a practical and effective tool for individuals and families to invest in housing and encourage greater accessibility to mortgage funding; calls on the Member States to facilitate the implementation and promotion of these measures as part of broader efforts to address the housing crisis; notes with great concern that overcrowded or unstable housing affects children’s education outcomes; demands a substantial boost to the European Child Guarantee, with a dedicated budget of at least EUR 20 billionGuarantee to secure access to adequate housing and related social needs; calls for annual monitoring and reporting on progress towards ending child housing poverty across the EU;

Changed:A. whereas a home is more than just a shelter and constitutes the foundation for families, households, individuals and communities to grow and thrive; whereas housing unaffordability is increasingly affecting not only low-income but also middle-income families, households and individuals across Europe; whereas young Europeans are particularly affected, facing increasing difficulty in leaving their parents’ home, which, in 2023, was happening at an average age of 26.3;26,3; whereas the reduction in average household size requires the housing stock to be redesigned to ensure all groups have access to housing; whereas these trends highlight the need to fully deploy the EU’s demography toolbox; whereas the lack of affordable housing places particular financial strain and risk of social exclusion on vulnerable groups, including elderly and homeless people; whereas for tenants and first-time buyers, among other groups, renting at an affordable price or owning a decent home has become harder than ever; whereas investing in decent, sustainable and affordable housing for all means building a better future for Europe; whereas successfully addressing the current housing crisis contributes to achieving a paramount social goal for the Union;

Changed:C. whereas Europe is facing not only a housing crisis but, above all, a crisis of affordability, whereas in the EU, from 2010 until the second quarter of 2025, rents increased by 28.828,8 % and house prices by 60.560,5 %; whereas in the EU, in the second quarter of 2025, when compared with the same period in 2024, rents increased by 3.23,2 % and house prices increased by 5.45,4 %, with many Member States experiencing skyrocketing increases; whereas minimum-wage earners spend, on average, 8.68,6 % more of their disposable income on housing costs than other employees; whereas 10.610,6 % of the EU urban population is suffering housing cost overburden, meaning that the total housing costs represent more than 40 % of their disposable income; whereas around 1.31,3 million people are homeless and sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation on any given night in the EU, with almost 400 000 of them being children;

Changed:G. whereas among the main causes of the housing crisis is the limited supply of housing stock, both private and public, resulting from a range of factors, including the insufficient construction and underinvestment in decent, sustainable and affordable housing over the past decades, rising energy and utility costs, and a persistent imbalance between housing demand and supply; whereas in 2024, the floor area index saw a further decline of 1.61,6 % and the dwelling index stagnated; whereas in 2023, building permits fell by 14.614,6 % for floor area and by 19.619,6 % for the number of dwellings, and have significantly decreased since 2021, with the number of approved permits for housing units falling from 1.991,99 million that year to 1.541,54 million in 2024; whereas this downward trend highlights the need for legal certainty, reduced red tape, enhanced data collection greater efficiency in permitting procedures and the sharing of best practices, as well as local zoning regulations, which are currently overly lengthy and complex, causing delays in construction, repurposing and renovation process; whereas simplifying and streamlining the complex set of rules in order to speed up housing construction, repurposing and renovation across Europe is crucial for the provision of decent, sustainable and affordable housing; whereas the housing affordability crisis presents not only a social challenge, but also a major economic threat to the EU’s competitiveness by restraining labour mobility, reducing disposable income, deterring investment, and increasing regional disparities; whereas it is therefore necessary to increase the construction, reconversion of unused buildings and renovation of dwellings both for sale and for rent, meeting accessibility criteria where needed; whereas greater use should be made of unused public infrastructures to increase housing solutions;

Changed:J. whereas 10.610,6 % of EU citizens reported being unable to adequately heat their homes in 2023; whereas key EU legislation to achieve long-term financial stability, such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive, sets technical requirements regarding sustainability, energy efficiency, and safety; whereas the Energy Efficiency Directive, which was revised in 2023, raises the EU energy efficiency target, requiring a further 11.711,7 % reduction in energy consumption by 2030; whereas improving the energy efficiency of buildings represents an industrial opportunity, but dependence on non-EU components results in strategic vulnerability and loss of added value; whereas EU legislation aims to ensure high-quality, future-proof housing, but also increases construction costs, ultimately borne by buyers and tenants; whereas a warm and safe home should not be a privilege and no one should be left behind, with realistic solutions implemented at EU, national, and local levels;

Changed:K. whereas energy poverty is an issue affecting all Member States and has a disproportionate impact on vulnerable families, including children and elderly, particularly in large, ageing housing blocks with low energy efficiency that result in high heating costs; whereas 14.514,5 million children in the EU lived in homes with leaks, damp or mould in 2023 and 154 000 Europeans die prematurely every year due to poor indoor air quality; whereas 75 % of the EU’s building stock has a poor energy performance rating; whereas energy-efficient buildings powered by renewable energy could reduce energy bills, improve health and well-being, and minimise long-term operational costs; whereas buildings account for 40 % of final energy consumption in the EU; whereas all EU countries should have established a draft national building renovation plan by 31 December 2025; whereas the plans will provide essential information for housing policies, including an overview of the national building stock, investment needs and financing sources; whereas the speed and level of renovations is still unsatisfactory; whereas energy-efficient renovation is unattractive for older people, who have the highest rate of ownership of old homes; whereas the Renovation Wave initiative should promote energy-efficient retrofits aiming for energy performance levels at reasonable cost-efficiency;

Changed:N. whereas, despite some recovery since, construction output in 2019 was still 8.38,3 % lower than it had been in 2007; whereas productivity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness can be improved via digital, streamlined and one-stop shop permitting, improved administrative procedures, robotisation, artificial intelligence, modular and offsite construction, reuse of construction materials and serial and industrial construction, among other measures; whereas technology should enhance safety and working conditions in the construction sector, including health and safety standards, while contributing to environmental and social sustainability; whereas industrial prefabrication alone can decrease construction time by 20-50 % and create significant energy and cost savings, and innovative practices can help to alleviate inefficient use of urban spaces; whereas there is an innovation gap in the EU construction sector, with only 6.56,5 % of companies being market leaders in innovation, while 75.975,9 % of construction companies in Europe do not innovate; whereas the EU should encourage large-scale deployment of technologies that improve the energy efficiency performance of housing stock;

Changed:O. whereas 69.269,2 % of EU households were owner-occupiers in 2023, reflecting the importance of property ownership as a driver of stability, intergenerational wealth and freedom of investment; whereas half of EU homeowners have no mortgage, and around one quarter are still at risk of poverty; whereas property ownership provides additional financial stability for families and pensioners; whereas disrespect for property affects communities and small property owners, especially in cases of illegal occupation or prolonged misuse of the dwelling in the context of contractual relationships that lack effective enforcement; whereas private property is threatened by illegal occupation, known as squatting, and systematic non-payment of rent phenomena, which harms communities and particularly small property owners, forcing them to exit the market and to rightfully recover their property, thereby reducing the available supply and contributing to rising prices whereas illegally staying in a property undermines the EU Charter and constitutes a violation of the rule of law; whereas the EU, Member States and public authorities bear responsibility for addressing property owners’ rights, and providing particular support to small-scale owners, families in need and vulnerable households;

Changed:S. whereas in 2019, approximately 3.43,4 million enterprises were active in the EU construction sector, most of them small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) , producing EUR 549 billion worth of added value and employing 12.712,7 million people; whereas self-employed workers, micro-enterprises, and SMEs constitute the core labour force in the sector and are key to its competitiveness, and therefore require a supportive and stable regulatory and investment environment; whereas the real estate activities sector employed 2.72,7 million people representing 1.71,7 % of all employment in the EU’s business economy in 2022, to which better access to credit and other financing support should be provided; whereas support to the private sector, be it national or EU support, should aim to stimulate the involvement of SMEs, in addition to larger entities, thereby contributing to a healthy, competitive construction sector and diversifying the sizes and types of residential developments;

Changed:T. whereas tourism is a vital economic driver for the EU, as it contributes to 10 % of the EU’s gross domestic product, significantly impacting growth, employment and social development, which makes it an asset in addressing economic downturns and unemployment; whereas any measures or actions proposed should not generate negative perceptions of tourism or deter tourism; whereas short-term rental schemes, ranging from entire homes to individual rooms, can contribute positively to local economies, help address depopulation by promoting rural tourism, support the preservation of old properties and provide an additional source of income for owners and tenants; whereas the use of residential properties for tourism purposes can also generate additional income for families, support their economic independence and serve as a source of funding for energy-efficient renovation of buildings; whereas evidence shows, however, that the short-term rental market has become increasingly professionalised and concentrated, spanning from small scale property owners to multi-property investors; whereas studies have documented that in certain neighbourhoods of Barcelona, Paris and Rome, short-term rental accommodation represents between 17 % and 25 % of all housing units; whereas in 2024, guests spent 854.1854,1 million nights in short-term rentals in the EU, which represented an 18.818,8 % increase compared with 2023; whereas the increase in short-term rental accommodation and the growing shift from long-term housing may come to the detriment of residential housing, especially in tourism-intensive regions such as major cities and coastal, island and outermost regions; whereas more empirical studies are needed to inform action on the proliferation of short-term rentals; whereas diverse solutions are needed, given the diverse nature of local realities and the number of municipalities and local territorial entities in the EU; whereas the EU’s fragmented and inconsistent legal framework on short-term rentals is undermining enforcement; whereas regions and cities need tools to address legal uncertainty; whereas regulation of this activity, if needed, is better accomplished at a level closer to the citizen, as the principle of subsidiarity mandates, and shows consistency with EU case-law;

Changed:U. whereas access to housing finance is essential to meet housing needs, as well as to support construction, renovation and repurposing, in particular for the approximately 3.83,8 million SMEs active in the EU construction sector; whereas improving access to credit, without compromising on macroeconomic prudence, should be part of a balanced response to the housing crisis; whereas access to credit for construction has significantly tightened since 2008, with banks reporting declining loan demands across the EU, with mortgage interest rates having increased, thus limiting the development of affordable housing and the sustainable renovation of existing stock; whereas the entire prudential framework should be aimed primarily at ensuring financial stability, focusing on sound banking criteria, and preventing housing bubbles; whereas private developers can play an important role in delivering diverse housing solutions efficiently and sustainably, and at a price that people can afford; whereas crowding-in private investment therefore could be helpful; whereas the renovation, conversion and extension of the existing housing stock is a cost-effective and rapid solution to the housing crisis; whereas, according to the European Central Bank, the last 15 years have seen increased divergence in residential real estate market access, with low- and middle- income households facing greater difficulties in obtaining credit for home purchases; whereas access to loans for purchasing a home can be challenging, specifically for young families and in rural areas, and access to long-term, affordable financing is therefore needed; whereas the regulation of mortgage markets can play a key role in supporting housing affordability; whereas the linkage between real estate trusts and funds, banks and other institutional investors, may pose risks to financial stability; whereas such interlinkages should be subject to transparent reporting;

Changed:X. whereas the Commission’s proposal for the mid-term review of the cohesion policy funds includes the possibility of doubling the funding available for affordable housing, as well as allowing Member States to voluntarily reallocate part of their current funding programmes; whereas the European Court of Auditors has underlined that this proposal does not include any reference to a gap analysis identifying where EU intervention is most needed; whereas the EUR 7.57,5 billion of EU support allocated to housing under the cohesion policy funds represents 2 % of the total cohesion policy funding (EUR 379 billion) for the period 2021–2027; whereas, according to the Commission, the Member States will decide on the amounts to be spent on housing and cohesion-related expenditure in their national and regional partnership plans; whereas this risks undermining their capacity to leverage cohesion policy funds and innovative affordable housing projects; whereas the Commission and Member States should adopt multi-year policies aimed at establishing national stocks of affordable and sustainable housing as well as promoting renovations that lower household costs; whereas cohesion policy funds should be deployed strategically and with efficient and transparent procedures, respecting workers’ rights and collective agreements to ensure fair competition; whereas cohesion policy alone cannot resolve the current housing crisis as, according to the economic analysis performed for the EIB Report 2024-2025, the investment gap in affordable housing is estimated at EUR 270 billion per year; whereas public funds can be complemented by attracting private investment; whereas the reallocation of unspent Just Transition Fund money could support the construction of housing, as the Commission has encouraged Member States to channel unspent funds to affordable, sustainable and decent housing;

Changed:Y. whereas the housing crisis experienced by millions of citizens in the EU is hitting young people particularly hard; whereas, in 2023, young people across the EU left their parental home on average at the age of 26.3,26,3, and in certain Member States almost 70 % of young adults aged 18-34 had no alternative but to continue living with their parents; whereas, in 2024, nearly half (49.1(49,1 %) of all young adults aged 18 to 34 in the EU lived with at least one parent or contributed or benefited from the household income; whereas, in 2024, close to half (47.2(47,2 %) of young adults in the EU who lived with at least one parent or contributed or benefited from the household income were students or otherwise outside the labour force whereas this delay in leaving the family home prevents younger generations from starting an independent life and forces many citizens to postpone important life decisions such as starting a family, living independently or relocating to start one’s professional career; whereas access to housing for young people is the first step to enabling their independence and the accomplishment of their objectives and desires; whereas housing has a direct impact on demographic trends; whereas 40.740,7 % of the total student population in the EU lives away from the family home, but only 38 % reside in student accommodation managed by universities, public entities or accredited operators; whereas this situation reveals a structural shortage of approximately 4.84,8 million bed spaces across the EU, underlining the urgent need for coordinated European, national and local action to expand and improve affordable and quality student housing; whereas high housing costs and a shortage of decent, sustainable and affordable housing rental and starter homes have deepened generational inequality;

Changed:AB. whereas people with disabilities are among the groups most impacted in accessing decent and affordable housing; whereas too many persons with disabilities remain in inadequate accommodation due to the lack of accessible housing; whereas upholding EU commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires Member States to expand accessible, community-based housing; whereas 11.111,1 % of people with disabilities were overburdened by housing costs in 2023; whereas 4.44,4 % of persons with disabilities experience severe housing deprivation; whereas 70-80 % of existing housing stock is unsuitable for independent living for people with disabilities; whereas estimates suggest that there are more than 1 million persons with disabilities aged under 65 and more than 2 million aged over 65 living in institutionalised care facilities in the EU; whereas insufficient accessibility in the housing stock deepens social exclusion and limits the ability of persons with disabilities to live independently and to participate fully and equally in society;

Changed:AC. whereas effective housing policies require the availability of transparent reliable, detailed and comparable statistics across the EU; whereas data collection and comparability remain a challenge, as housing policies are deeply rooted in local and territorial contexts; whereas current datasets are often fragmented and fail to capture the territorial dimension of housing dynamics; whereas the collection of housing data would allow for a better understanding of location-specific trends and territorial disparities; whereas such data is essential to monitor affordability, assess systemic risks, and guide evidence-based policymaking; whereas robust data is also required on homelessness, affordability, land take, vacancy and the use of building stock, and on renovations and retrofitting, in order to design effective policies; whereas Parliament initiated the EU Land Observatory pilot project, which is currently being implemented; whereas housing is taken into account in cost-of living calculations, revealing variations across EU countries in house and utility prices, based on purchasing power parities and the overall price level index for household expenditure; whereas the main housing-related components of consumer goods and services include electricity, gas and other fuels; whereas in 2021, 19.519,5 % of dwellings in the EU were unoccupied, that is, they were either vacant or secondary residences; whereas that is a 23 % increase in comparison with 2011;

Changed:10. Underlines that measures are needed to safeguard housing for residents and to preserve the diversity and vitality of urban communities and the long-term liveability of cities; further stresses the importance of addressing gentrification in urban planning and of regeneration policies, ensuring that revitalisation efforts do not lead to the displacement of residents, including long-term residents and older homeowners, or the loss of affordable housing; stresses the need to allocate adequate resources to local and regional authorities for capacity-building support, and to assist the Member States in their policies of territorial development, promoting construction, repurposing, renovation, investment and streamline permitting and administrative procedures in rural areas, small and medium-sized municipalities and areas considered less attractive; underlines that many municipalities face severe staffing shortages, which limit their capacity to plan, deliver and manage public and social housing, and to ensure proper oversight of private sector activity; underlines that insufficient administrative capacity contributes to mismanagement, lengthy permitting procedures and weak enforcement against unlawful practices;Increasing the supply of affordable private and public housingpractices;