During its latest meeting, the European Alliance Group at the European Committee of the Regions welcomed Vicent Marzà Ibáñez, Vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the Housing Crisis (HOUS), for an exchange on the future of affordable housing policy in Europe.
Affordable housing and territorial realities
Marzà stressed that housing must be treated as a fundamental right, warning that rising rents and property prices affect territories differently, particularly rural areas, islands and tourism-dependent regions. “Housing is not only a social issue, but also a territorial and cultural one. People should not be forced to leave their communities because they can no longer afford to live there”, he stated. Underlining how essential this is to minorities and small cultural communities, where high prices and touristic pressure make difficult the survival of minority languages.
He also called for a clearer European definition of “affordable housing”, arguing that vague criteria make the allocation of public funding more difficult. He urged the EU to give regions and municipalities a stronger role in managing housing funds, as they are best placed to understand realities on the ground.
Tourism pressure and local concerns
The debate also focused on tourism and short-term rentals, with Marzà arguing that regions under strong tourism pressure need better tools to protect residents’ access to housing. Stressing that first-time buyers, rural areas and islands must not be forgotten in future EU policies as preferential situations to look-up at to avoid depopulation tendencies.
EA Group members shared local concerns on affordability, ageing populations, transport, access to services and rising construction costs. They agreed on the need to gather feedback from local and regional authorities to contribute to the European Parliament’s work on the future EU housing strategy.
