THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- calls for the implementation of housing as a fundamental human right, building on principle 19 of the European Pillar of Social Rights and Article 34 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU;
- emphasises that the European Affordable Housing Plan must respect the subsidiarity principle and ensure the active involvement of the local and regional levels; LRAs are essential not only for shaping the plan but also for ensuring its successful implementation at the local and regional levels;
- recognises that the diversity of housing systems in the EU precludes ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions; calls on the European Commission to propose a broad, EU-wide approach to affordable housing using the affordable housing scope in the ‘housing continuum’ as a reference model;
- calls for the […] ongoing State aid reform […] to consider broadening the scope of State aid beyond social housing to include all models promoting housing affordability;
- stresses that the involvement of LRAs (in accordance with their competences) ensures housing projects are also integrated into broader urban development strategies, including the development of public infrastructure. Calls for at least a basic sustainable urban development plan, including mobility and housing, to be an ex-ante conditionality for the disbursement of the EU funds or loans;
- underlines that quality affordable housing must become an explicit goal in the next MFF; welcomes the European Commission’s focus on nature-based, sustainable construction techniques;
- proposes […] that all public investments in affordable housing, including social housing, should be treated off-balance, as they are essential for future and long-term societal well-being;
- urges […] the European Commission to intensify its oversight of market regulation within the housing sector and to take action to combat speculation in the housing market at EU level. To this end, the establishment of an EU-wide real estate transaction transparency registry, which includes the beneficial owner of each property, is essential;
- underscores the importance of establishing very strict and long-term temporal conditionalities to ensure affordable housing units built with European support are not rapidly sold off to the private market. A key safeguard in this regard is the retention of land ownership by local authorities;
- emphasises the importance of addressing the barriers related to up-front costs of renovation and of ensuring affordability after renovation, protecting tenants from renovictions, taking into account each national framework