What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Removed:EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Removed:Access to housing in the Union has become a crucial challenge of our time, and one of the main concerns of our citizens. Over the past eight years, house prices in the Union have risen by an average of 48%, while rents have increased by 18%, often representing up to 40% of a household’s monthly income. When housing becomes unaffordable, it disproportionately affects young people and undermines the stability of families. This is why guidance and support from the European institutions can provide added value in addressing this emergency, making this report particularly important.

Removed:While housing policy remains a national, regional, and local competence according to the principle of subsidiarity, a pattern of shared root causes, some anchored in EU legislation, is emerging across Member States. This calls for a multi-level governance approach based on tailor-made housing policies, recognising that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ principle has no place in this context, thus respecting the specificities of each EU housing market. The Union cannot and should not replace Member States in managing housing policy. However, it must act as a catalyst by removing barriers, unlocking investment, and creating enabling conditions, so that all citizens, families, and future generations can have access to a place they can call home.

Removed:The primary driver of the rise in housing prices is the persistent imbalance between housing demand and supply forces, with demand remaining at historically high levels while the housing stock continues to be rigid and unresponsive to market signals. Therefore, effectively addressing the housing shortage and appropriately incentivizing market forces is of paramount importance. Evidence indicates that price controls and stringent market interventions are ineffective, as they create uncertainty, discourage investment, and deter those who could work effectively across all levels of governance to help expand supply. Similarly, squatting, including both empty properties and those occupied by the owner or a person with a legal right, and the phenomenon of non-payment of rent by tenants who violate their obligations, are an attack on private property, our fundamental values and rights, given the impossibility for owners to recover their home, which in turn generates legal uncertainty and leads to a decrease in supply.

Removed:This housing crisis must be addressed through a two-step, sequential approach to ensure that each phase effectively builds upon the previous one. First, housing supply needs to be significantly boosted to alleviate the structural imbalance in the market; otherwise, demand-side pressures risk exacerbating prices and limiting affordability. Second, housing demand must be supported to ensure that those in most need, particularly young people and low- and middle-income families, can access affordable housing by providing financial support mechanisms that do not distort the market and that respect a level playing field.

Removed:Boosting housing supply

Removed:The Union faces a critical shortage of housing units, coupled with an urgent need to modernise and upgrade its existing housing stock. Residential construction declined by 5.7% in 2024, following a 2.6% drop in 2023, posing a significant challenge to the sector’s competitiveness and underscoring the urgent need to restore its capacity to respond effectively to market demands. To address this situation, it is essential to accelerate both the pace and scale of new construction and renovation efforts, and, to do so effectively, this Report aims to put forward concrete solutions to tackle the root causes of the current decline.

Removed:Several factors help explain the insufficient construction and underinvestment observed over the past decades. These include limited availability of land for development, lengthy processes for issuing building permits, legal uncertainty, the impact of EU legislation in areas such as energy compliance, an excessive tax burden on housing construction, and rising material prices, which have further contributed to increased construction costs. To incentivise housing construction, key areas for action include the factors mentioned above, as well as securing property ownership, significantly boosting productivity and innovation, attracting and retaining skilled labour, and strengthening support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the sector.

Removed:Therefore, the Union must reduce administrative burdens in the Single Market, streamline permit procedures, and cut unnecessary red tape. A comprehensive audit of the regulatory framework for construction is needed to identify and remove the legal bottlenecks holding back the sector. Moreover, the protection of property rights must become a cornerstone of the European housing debate as a fundamental value of the European Union, as ensuring legal certainty and protection for families and individuals is not only a matter of justice but also a prerequisite for market stability and investor confidence. Furthermore, the self-employed in the EU are mainly in the construction sector, representing 17% of the total, and micro-enterprises, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for up to 95% of the construction, architecture and civil engineering firms, are the core labour force in the sector and are key to the sector’s competitiveness. Therefore, they cannot be neglected and require special protection.

Removed:Securing funding and easing investments

Removed:Mobilizing private investment is essential, as the public sector alone cannot address the liquidity shortage in the market, including in the construction of social housing. To enable this, Member States and EU institutions must establish conditions that attract private capital, for example by strengthening the EU’s financial architecture through initiatives such as the completion of the Savings and Investments Union, or the use of securitisation, which will enhance cross-border private capital flows toward housing investments.

Removed:Moreover, European funds should be deployed more efficiently to promote the crowding in of private capital to finance housing investments through public or private housing companies, municipalities, regions, and public-private partnerships (PPPs), while facilitating large-scale urban renewal projects that can revitalise urban areas and expand the housing stock, with the European Investment Bank playing an enabling role through its financing and advisory activities. In order to make the most of available public funds, it is paramount to guarantee efficient, transparent, inclusive, and equitable allocation mechanisms for the beneficiaries of EU funds, ensuring that resources are directed where they are most needed and can have the greatest impact. Finally, while public investment remains a crucial component of the overall solution, it will never be sufficient, and attracting private capital is needed.

Removed:Supporting housing demand

Removed:The population in urban centres is growing, increasingly concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, while rural areas continue to face depopulation. At the same time, needs are evolving, as families are becoming smaller, the population is ageing, and migration pressures are adding to demographic shifts. In this context, it is crucial to support young people seeking to start an independent life, including through targeted housing schemes and mortgage support mechanisms, such as guarantees for young first-time buyers.

Removed:Moreover, essential workers, such as doctors, teachers, hospitality staff, or security officers are increasingly unable to afford housing in the very areas where their presence is most needed. To address this, we must support families by exploring tailor-made housing-related policy measures, including tax incentives. Many people, despite participating in the labour market, cannot afford to leave their family homes or live independently, which is not always a matter of personal choice.

Removed:Final remarks

Removed:Finally, better evidence is key to understanding the link between housing access, economic productivity, and competitiveness, which is why the collection and use of comparable data and robust indicators at the European level must be improved. Without reliable and granular data, sound policymaking will remain out of reach. For complex challenges, targeted solutions are needed, which should be evidence-based and respectful of local and regional competences, grounded in the principle of subsidiarity and the bottom-up approach.

Removed:Housing is, throughout Europe, not a secondary issue but the foundation upon which stability, family, and the future of our citizens are built. Tackling the housing crisis means giving young generations and families the confidence to build their future. Citizens rightfully expect solutions. It is our responsibility to rise to this challenge, set aside ideological dogmas, and work together to deliver tangible improvements in people’s lives. Failing to do so threatens our values, democratic societies, and the competitiveness of our continent.

Removed:All Europeans should have the possibility to access a place to call home, as it is the first step towards a future of dreams, justice, and, most of all, freedom. The future of Europe, including its economy, well-being, and competitiveness, depends on creating the right conditions to make this possible.