The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, says that urgent and concrete measures to be necessary to tackle the housing crisis that is ‘devastating’ living standards across Europe, including an increase in house building, as well as guarantees to defend the fundamental right to decent and affordable housing in the face of speculation.
In an opinion piece published by Politico, Sánchez recalls the role played by the EU as a refuge for democratic values and freedom, but warns that ‘values do not guarantee a roof over one’s head’ and if no action is taken to address the affordable housing crisis, ‘Europe risks becoming a refuge without homes’.
He warns that the housing crisis ‘is devastating living standards across Europe’, with house prices rising by 60% between 2010 and 2025, while rents have increased by almost 30%, at a time when around one in five Europeans are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. He points out that housing, which should be a right, ‘has become a trap that conditions people’s present, stifles their future and jeopardises Europe’s cohesion, economic dynamism and prosperity’.
Although the roots of this problem may vary between European countries, Sánchez believes that the need for more housing is shared across the continent, given that house building has been below demand for almost two decades, as is the urgency of ensuring that housing under construction or already existing fulfils the purpose of defending the fundamental right to decent and affordable housing, rather than increasingly being diverted to fuel speculation or tourist rentals.
‘In my country, cities such as Madrid and Valencia have seen residents displaced from their historic centres, which are being transformed into theme parks for tourists,’ he says. Sánchez believes that, with the Affordable Housing Plan, the European Commission is beginning to make progress on housing, adopting measures that Spain has been advocating for some time, and increasingly recognising the scale of this emergency and that specific market conditions may require differentiated national and local responses.
‘This will help to consolidate a shared political understanding of areas with housing difficulties and reinforce the need for specific measures, which may include, among others, restrictions on short-term rentals,’ he explains. ‘The time for words is over. We need urgent action,’ he summarises, referring to the growing outrage over housing across Europe, in the face of which citizens need concrete solutions, and warns that any lack of ambition and urgency risks turning the housing crisis into a new driver of Euroscepticism.
He therefore urges decisive measures to be taken to dramatically increase flexible funding to match the scale of the housing crisis and to ensure that member countries can quickly implement the legal tools necessary to adopt ‘bold regulatory measures’ on short-term rentals and address the impact of non-resident buyers on access to housing. ‘The true dimension of our union is not defined solely by treaties. It must be demonstrated by ensuring that all people can live with dignity and have a home.’ he concludes.