Brussels, 16 October 2025 – As the public consultation on the European Housing Affordability Plan comes to a close this week, NGOs from around Europe gather at a stunt auction outside of the European Parliament to call on the EU Policymakers not to sell people’s right to housing – but instead deliver a plan that ensures decent, affordable and energy efficient housing for all.
Over the last decade, across almost every city in Europe, house prices have soared. Since 2015, on average, house prices in the EU have risen by 53%. This lack of affordable and accessible housing and rental accommodation, which intertwines with the ever increasing cost of energy, is further exacerbating social inequalities.
A coalition of 37 grassroots and civil society organisations, as part of the Fair Housing and Fair Energy for All campaign, is calling on the European Commission and the EU institutions to deliver a housing plan that guarantees the right to fair and affordable housing for all and ensures a fair and just transition in the built environment, meeting the EU’s climate and energy targets while not leaving households in the cold. The initiative is also supported by the Build Better Lives campaign, a pan-European, people-oriented effort bringing together more than 95 social justice, housing, climate, health and youth civil society organisations. Our demands are:
- Guarantee the right to fair and affordable housing for all. Everyone deserves a home they can afford. Housing is a human right — not a business opportunity. Europe must ensure fair and affordable housing for all, with a special focus on those in marginalised positions, leaving no one behind.
- Hold real estate and housing developers accountable. Require developers to dedicate a significant share (e.g. 5–10%) of their portfolios to social or community housing built to strong energy efficiency and renewable standards. Ensure transparency and enforce compliance so that private development contributes to social and environmental goals.
- Ensure a fair and inclusive energy renovation for all. Provide targeted and accessible funding to end energy poverty, so that no one freezes in winter or boils in summer. Couple all renovation programmes with strong social safeguards to prevent displacement and guarantee that improvements benefit those most in need. Make every home energy-efficient through better insulation, reduced gas dependency, and a shift towards renewables, thus ensuring decent, affordable and sustainable living for everyone.
- Optimize housing supply through inclusive and smart urban planning: Make full use of vacant, abandoned, and publicly owned spaces to provide decent, affordable, and energy-efficient homes. Public housing should take the lead, ensuring that no publicly owned home remains empty. These assets must not be transferred to large real estate corporations that fuel inequality and displace low-income residents.
- Regulate rental prices in areas affected by touristification: Protect local residents from soaring rents and unfair competition with tourist accommodation through fair and transparent rent control mechanisms.
“Homes are not a commodity, they are a basic human right. The European Housing Affordability Plan needs to do more than just giving developers a free pass to build more houses, it needs to promote the renovation of energy inefficient homes and repurpose vacant buildings. This will address housing shortages and affordability while providing warmer, healthier and climate resilient homes for all, especially for those in vulnerable positions.” – Mónica Vidal, Senior Built Environment Campaigner at CAN Europe
“The European Action Coalition has been warning for years about skyrocketing rents and living costs. They are obvious to everyone, yet EU leaders still claim that more private construction is the answer. This cannot be the solution, this is the CAUSE of the problem. With over 35 housing and climate collectives from more than 30 European countries, we stand and say: our right to housing is not for sale. It is up to MEPs to choose whether the Affordable Housing Plan will fix the problem or fuel it. We are here to remind them of that choice”. – Ivana Andelkovic, activist at the European Action Coalition for the Right to Housing and the City (EAC).
ENDS
About the Fair Housing and Fair Energy for All campaign: powered by a coalition of 37 housing and climate organisations, this pan-European campaign addresses the cost-of-living crisis through the lens of climate justice, housing, and energy affordability.
The Coalition is composed of: Action Justice Climat, Alianza por el Clima, CAN Europe, CBM Ireland, European Action Coalition, ECOLISE, Ecorredes, European Youth Energy Network, FFF International, Focus, Friends of the Earth Ireland, Fridays for future Italy, Friends of Earth Europe, Fundacja RTON , Generation Climate Europe, Ghett’up, Habitat et Participation, HouseEurope!, Klima-Allianz Deutschland, Legambiente, Les Impactrices, OPEN (Online Progressive Engagement Network), Plataforma de Afectadas por la Hipoteca, Scientist Rebellion, Spanish Revolution, The Artivist Network, The Movement Hub – Greenpeace, United for Climate Justice, We Move Europe, WECF International, WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform, Wschód, Youth and Environment Europe, ZERO.
