Ministers from Europe and beyond commit to address housing emergency

Europe is facing a severe housing crisis: with costs rising faster than incomes, several families across the continent are spending up large portions of their savings and incomes just to have a place to call home.

Convened by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), over 30 ministers and senior government officials met in Geneva on 8 October to discuss stronger policies and increased financing for housing affordability and sustainability across Europe.

During a briefing, Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean shed light on the housing crisis, citing that “many families are paying one quarter or even half of their disposable income just to keep a roof over their heads.”

A 2024 UNECE report highlights this very issue, revealing that housing costs are pushing over a third of low-income families in most countries into poverty. Europe also faces significant challenges to sustainability, with housing accounting for roughly 30 per cent of both energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.

The housing stock is for the most part inefficiently aging and retrofitting older homes is difficult, as housing providers often struggle to keep up with high payments and limited access to finance.

At the Wednesday meeting, ministers confirmed that housing is, in fact, a human right, adopting actionable commitments to increase its accessibility.  These agreements, agreed by ministers, stress the “urgent need for integrated, inclusive and forward-looking strategies that address the housing emergency.”

Ministers recognized the dynamically context-dependent characteristics of housing challenges, warning that the view of housing to generate wealth and profit has led to increased speculation and a lack of public and private investment.

For this, the ministers called for measures, including more public investment and the expansion of public, cooperative, social and community-led housing models, private sector funding through green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, community land trusts, and blended finance instruments.

The meeting was held as part of the 86^th session of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management, which ends on 10 October.

For more information, please visit UN News.