The State of Housing in the EU (Housing Europe, 2012-2019)

• Housing Europe is the European Federation of Public, Cooperative and Social Housing, based in Brussels: http://www.housingeurope.eu

• Since 2015, it publishes a biannual report titled "The State of Housing in the EU", which is a rich source of information and data regarding not only public and social housing but generally housing markets and regulations across the EU countries.

• Beore 2015, it had published two overall reviews in 2007 and 2012.

2021

• The State of Housing in the EU 2021: Decoding the new housing reality

• Published by Housing Europe on 26 March 2021

• https://www.stateofhousing.eu

• Introduction by Housing Europe:

  • After a year into the global health pandemic, Housing Europe’s ‘State of Housing 2021’ report provides a first analysis of the impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on public, cooperative, social housing and our communities. The flagship publication produced by the Federation’s Housing Observatory illustrates the alarming housing reality in 21 countries and offers concrete policy recommendations on how to overcome substantial challenges to decent, sustainable, inclusive, affordable housing.

  • The vital need for shelter from the COVID-19 storm has made the essential role of decent and affordable housing even more explicit, reinforcing the strong link between adequate homes and health. Evidence shows that as little as a 5% increase of households living in poor housing conditions can result in 50% higher risk of incidence and 42% chance of losing the battle with the coronavirus.

  • “The need to improve homes to fulfil new functions without pricing people out is now clearer than ever. Including work and study spaces so that our homes enable all to lead a productive life will be crucial to reducing the inequalities which not having adequate housing reinforce when we are obliged to ‘stay at home’,” Housing Europe’s President, Bend Madsen says. Various analyses show that inadequate housing has an impact on well-being, mental health, school performance and the possibility to work remotely. Previous editions of ‘State of Housing’ have been drawing attention to Eurostat figures that report for nearly 10% of the EU population experiencing housing cost overburden and over 17% of Europeans living in overcrowded homes, making social distancing a particularly challenging task.

2019

• The State of Housing in the EU 2019: Decoding the new housing reality

• Published by Housing Europe on 1 October 2019

• http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-1323/the-state-of-housing-in-the-eu-2019

• Summary by Housing Europe:

  • 1. Addressing a structural problem with patchwork: Europe’s housing crisis, already identified in the 2015 and 2017 editions of the ‘State of Housing in the EU’ is still a reality many countries are confronted with. What we have seen, in the meantime, is that although this is clearly a structural problem- as the data below shows- it continues to be addressed by decision makers with a patchwork of, often costly, policy solutions.

    2. Housing and the alarming social divide: The housing question is at the heart of the growing social divide that we observe in most European societies over the last years. While accessing and sustaining decent accommodation is primarily an issue for those living on low incomes, more and more people are affected by the lack of affordable housing, particularly in big cities, and make their voice heard putting housing de facto on the political agenda.

    3. Cities at the forefront of the housing challenge: The role of cities in determining housing policies and ultimately housing conditions of their inhabitants has become a key policy topic in recent years. This is due on the one hand to increasing evidence showing that cities, in Europe and beyond, are the places where the shortage of affordable housing is mostly concentrated and on the other to a number of city-led policy initiatives in the field of housing.

    4. Changes in housing delivery: The role of social and affordable housing providers continues to evolve, going beyond just housing provision reacting to changing needs.

    5. Housing, a priority for decision makers at Local, National and European level: No doubt, housing is a local issue and, as mentioned above, local authorities tend to take over bigger shares of responsibility. However, the national policies as well as the European agenda in multiple housing-related areas are more than ever intertwined with the local dimension.

2017

• The State of Housing in the EU 2017: Housing is still Europe’s challenge

• Published by Housing Europe on 17 October 2017

• http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-1000/the-state-of-housing-in-the-eu-2017

• Summary by Housing Europe:

  • Housing has become the highest expenditure for Europeans and overburden rate remains stable at high level, hitting disproportionally harder the poor.

  • House prices are growing faster than income in most Member States, while inequality and housing exclusion are mutually reinforcing.

  • Territorial divide is alarming, as finding adequate and affordable housing in places where job opportunities are, is increasingly hard.

  • As the level of housing construction is still low, especially major cities face a structural housing shortage reinforced by recent waves of migration.

  • Political response to Europe’s housing challenge remains poor, a fact reflected in increasing levels of homelessness. Only cities, that are at the forefront of the housing crisis, are showing a more prominent role in finding solutions.

2015

• The State of Housing in the EU 2015: A Housing Europe Review

• Published by Housing Europe on 5 May 2015

• http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-468/the-state-of-housing-in-the-eu-2015

• Summary by Housing Europe:

  • The housing markets are very heterogeneous, making it very difficult to propose a one size fits all approach to housing markets and housing policy from the EU level. The best way, indeed, to observe the markets is at national and even regional level, since the needs of the metropolitan areas, which become increasingly dense, differ a lot from the ones of the rural areas.

  • There is a sort of “housing trap” in many EU counties, for people who try to enter the housing market:

    • The rental sector is expensive

    • Home ownership is not an option due to the even higher cost

    • Social homes are just not enough with waiting lists growing in a number of countries, including Italy, the UK, France and Ireland.

  • This leads in many countries to the generational phenomenon that the majority of people aged 18-34 still live with their parents- 66% of them in Italy, 58% in Portugal, 55% in Spain, 74% in Slovakia etc.

  • A large number of households are overburdened by housing costs and this becomes more and more evident in the crisis-ridden countries like Greece, where more and more families appear to have difficulties to cover their housing expenses as the crisis keeps evolving.

2012

• The Housing Europe Review 2012: The nuts and bolts of European social housing system

• Published by Housing Europe on 1 December 2012

• http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-105/the-housing-europe-review-2012

• Summary by Housing Europe:

  • This Review provides an update of the 2007 report "Housing Europe 2007: Review of social, co-operative and public housing in the 27 EU member states".

  • While the previous review aimed at providing an overview of the main development in housing policies and housing markets affecting the social, cooperative and public housing sector, the current study focuses on social housing and aims at providing a clearer picture of the way social housing systems are structured across the EU, while identifying the main recent trends in the sector.

2007

• Housing Europe 2007: Review of social, cooperative and public housing in the 27 European states

• Published by Housing Europe in December 2007

• A PDF version of the report is available on World Habitat's site: https://www.world-habitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/CECODHAS-Housing-Europe-2007.pdf

• Summary:

  • This detailed report presents an overview of the main trends and issues facing the social, co-operative and public housing sectors in each country, as well as providing national profiles and key housing-related data.

  • The study draws on data provided by the network of CECODHAS [Housing Europe] correspondents, as well as from external national experts.

  • This report provides reliable and up-to-date data on the socially provided housing sector in Europe. For each country, there is a brief overview setting out the following information:

    • An overview of the social, co-operative and public housing system in the country

    • Main market trends affecting social, cooperative and public housing

    • Main social and demographic changes in the demand for social, co-operative and public housing

    • Main policy developments in the field of housing, in particular with respect to social, co-operative and public housing

    • Main changes in the scope of activity of social , co-operative and public housing providers

    • Main changes in urban regeneration and sustainable communities’ policy and in urban development

  • In addition, for each country, there is a statistical information section that includes the following data:

    • Stock details

    • Housing affordability information

    • Costs of construction

    • Changes in the housing market

    • Housing quality information

    • Public subsidy details

    • Key demographic data