On Thursday 20 November, the European Housing Advisory Board called for “a paradigm shift” to ensure that housing is seen as an essential social and economic infrastructure.
“The first response” is to change the approach by recognising that we are facing “a social crisis” in access to housing, Eamon Ryan, chairman of the body set up in June and a former Irish minister for the environment and transport, told journalists. According to the task force, “we must discourage the ‘financialisation’ of housing, where it is valued as a speculative asset rather than someone’s long-term home”.
Taking the view that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to the EU housing crisis, the experts set out 75 recommendations to be implemented at European, national or local level in the following areas: social housing and protecting vulnerable people, urban planning and issuing building/renovation permits, building sustainability, and financing.
The advisory board advocates adopting ‘Housing First’ policies to ensure a sufficient housing supply and to meet all needs. Taxing short-term rentals could help to finance this strategy, it believes. And, according to the experts, we should not rely solely on constructing new housing, which could lead to excessive urban sprawl, but give priority to maintenance and urban renewal.
To increase the supply of affordable housing, the task force favours the ‘cost rental affordable housing model’. Under this model, rent is calculated based on the actual costs of providing the home (acquisition, construction, financing, operation and maintenance). Returns are predefined, capped and distributable to all types of shareholders. This model imposes strict limitations on reallocation and transfer of ownership, ensuring that assets remain in the system for a long period.
European platform. At European level, the experts suggest creating an online platform bringing together stakeholders in order to collect data (new construction, student housing, homelessness, etc.) and facilitate the exchange of experience.
At an annual summit for policymakers, this platform would present the main developments in the housing sector in terms of target groups, types of construction and business models.
Praising the speed of the advisory board’s work, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen promised, in a press release, to put forward “an ambitious and comprehensive European affordable housing plan” in December.
See the task force report: https://aeur.eu/f/jk2 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)