Europe needs a “huge wake-up” call on housing, EU Commissioner warns
EU Housing Commissioner warns affordability crisis risks undermining democracy across Europe
30 January 2026 | 📧 editor@ipropertyradio.com
The European Union is preparing to take a far more interventionist role in housing policy, with plans to loosen state aid rules to support affordable housing where markets are failing, according to the EU’s first dedicated Housing Commissioner.
Speaking on Talking Europe on France 24, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the scale of Europe’s housing crisis requires urgent action, citing sharp rises in housing costs and growing affordability pressures across Member States.
According to European Commission figures referenced during the programme, average house prices across the EU have risen by around 60 per cent since 2015, while one in ten Europeans is now unable to pay rent or a mortgage on time. Homelessness is also increasing in several countries.
Jørgensen warned that the housing crisis poses wider societal and political risks if left unaddressed.
“I very much hope that decision-makers across the European Union are aware of the severity of this crisis. I think we need a huge wake-up call in Europe. If people don’t have a home – if they cannot afford the most basic need, which is a roof over their head – there is a real risk that they will turn against democracy… This is an obligation for all Member States, for all Mayors…”
A central plank of the Commission’s emerging affordable housing plan is a reform of EU state aid rules, which have historically limited direct public intervention in housing delivery. Jørgensen acknowledged that housing has traditionally been seen as a national competence, with limited involvement from Brussels, but said this approach is now changing.
“It is true that – in the past – the European Commission has not played a big role here [in housing], we will play now a bigger role. And one of the things that we need to do is change the rules for when it is possible to use state aid. We want to make it easier for Member States to use state aid where the market does not deliver.”
He said the aim is to enable governments to support the delivery of affordable homes for essential workers who are increasingly priced out of the communities they serve.
“This means that we can use state aid to provide more affordable housing so that nurses, teachers, police officers are able to afford to live where they serve.”
Addressing concerns that looser state aid rules could create uneven competition between Member States with different fiscal capacities, Jørgensen said the Commission’s role is not to dictate housing policy but to remove regulatory barriers. He acknowledged that existing EU rules have, in some cases, made it harder for governments to intervene even where they wished to do so.
Beyond supply, the Commissioner also pointed to the impact of short-term lettings on housing availability in cities across Europe, saying the Commission wants to ensure EU rules do not prevent local authorities and national governments from regulating the sector where it is crowding out long-term homes.
The Commission has also committed to an ambition to end homelessness across the EU by 2030, although Jørgensen conceded this will depend heavily on national social policy, increased housing supply and the wider adoption of proven approaches such as Finland’s Housing First model.
The housing portfolio, combined with energy policy, marks a significant expansion of the EU’s role in areas traditionally led by Member States, reflecting growing concern that housing affordability has become a systemic risk across the Union rather than a series of isolated national issues.
Watch in full: https://youtu.be/HErxBL9Ftgs?si=b4jcN4-bG_c5-rLU
