The European Commission is poised to relax stringent state aid rules to accelerate the construction of affordable housing, officials say. They argue this will unlock investments and speed up social housing projects in cities where rents have surged: rents rose about 29% from 2010 to mid-2025, while house prices climbed more than 60% in the same period. Construction costs also surged, up to 48% between 2010 and 2023, underscoring the scale of the challenge facing European towns and cities. The plan is pitched as part of a broader effort to address a housing crisis that has left many ordinary people unable to live in major cities, even as demand for housing continues to grow.
Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s first-ever Commissioner for Housing, told Euronews that the plan will be part of the EU Affordable Housing Plan to be unveiled in December. It aims to allow member states to support affordable housing more quickly and simply, with the rules being tweaked to enable targeted investments in housing, energy efficiency, social housing, and internal market support. The package is expected to mix non-binding initiatives with legislative proposals, including a Construction Services Act and new rules on short-term rentals, addressing concerns that platforms like Airbnb are driving up prices. Jørgensen stressed that this is a holistic effort—if the EU does not reform state aid, investments, energy, social policies, and internal market rules together, the housing crisis will not be solved.
Brussels seeks to adjust how and where state aid can be used to back housing, aiming to cut red tape and speed up the delivery of affordable homes. The reform is framed as a way to counter the widening gap between rents and incomes, and to limit the financialisation of housing where investors treat homes as commodities rather than homes. The plan also targets the impact of short-term rental platforms on local housing stock and prices, a concern echoed by city officials across the EU who report price pressures from tourism demand.
Beyond bricks and contracts, the policy discussion touches public health and family planning. The World Health Organization has warned that infertility is an overlooked public health problem with limited access to care. About one in six people worldwide experiences infertility, and costs for treatments such as IVF can exceed a typical household’s annual income. In Europe, Belgium and the Netherlands score highest for legal regulations, public funding, and patient perspectives on infertility care, while Albania, Azerbaijan, and Kosovo fare worse. The WHO guidance calls for expanding access to fertility care and improving early diagnosis, underscoring that social policy—of which housing is a key component—plays a crucial role in people’s ability to plan families, manage mental health, and sustain economic security.
The EU’s Affordable Housing Plan is designed to complement national efforts, recognizing that housing stability intersects with health, social protection, and economic resilience. By easing state aid constraints, Brussels aims to make housing more accessible while safeguarding internal market integrity and addressing the unintended consequences of rental platforms and market dynamics.
