YDE Policy Paper on Affordable Housing
Across Europe, housing has become one of the most pressing concerns for citizens, and especially for young people. The dream of finding a decent, affordable, and sustainable home is slipping further away for many. Rents are skyrocketing in urban areas, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and social housing is far too scarce. In some countries, more than one in three young tenants now spend over 40% of their disposable income on rent. These difficulties are not only an economic challenge: they are a question of dignity, social justice, and democratic resilience.
At the Young Democrats for Europe (YDE), we believe that housing is not just about bricks and mortar. It is about guaranteeing equal opportunities, supporting social cohesion, and safeguarding democracy itself. When an entire generation is priced out of secure housing, it risks being excluded from the stability needed to start families, build communities, and engage fully in civic life. The rise of populism in Europe cannot be understood without looking at the growing insecurity created by the housing crisis.
That is why the YDE Board has placed affordable housing at the heart of its political priorities in 2025. Between March and July 2025, we conducted a consultation across Europe, collecting insights from young people on their daily struggles with housing. Their voices highlighted high rents, discrimination, precarious tenancy, barriers to mortgages, and the impact of speculative investments and shaped the proposals contained in this paper.
We also engaged in dialogue with MEP Ciarán Mullooly, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Housing Committee, to connect these youth perspectives with the EU’s upcoming legislative agenda.
The resulting policy paper, “Bringing a European Response to the Housing Crisis,” sets out a comprehensive and ambitious plan built around three main pillars:
- Strengthening the EU Regulatory Framework
- Broaden the EU’s definition of “social housing” to unlock more public initiatives.
- Revise State aid rules and introduce a Social Taxonomy to channel sustainable investment into affordable housing.
- Limit speculative investor purchases and regulate short-term rentals to protect long-term availability.
- Support first-time buyers with VAT rebates and fairer mortgage access.
- Targeted Investment and Monitoring at EU Level
- Dedicate part of the Social Climate Fund to affordable housing projects.
- Create a European Affordable Housing Observatory to monitor progress and ensure transparency.
- Require that at least 50% of EU-funded housing project budgets be reserved for affordable and social housing.
- Launch youth-focused homelessness prevention programmes and introduce a harmonised EU-wide definition of homelessness.
- Ambitious Social Targets and Housing Rights
- Establish binding EU targets to increase the share of social housing to 15% of total stock by 2030 (compared to 8% today).
- Align national housing strategies with EU-level goals and monitor them through the European Semester.
- Commit to ending homelessness in Europe by 2030, anchored in the Housing First approach.
This report is published at a decisive moment. The European Parliament is expected to adopt its report on housing later this year, and the European Commission has announced that it will present its Action Plan on Affordable Housing in 2025. We believe that young voices must be heard in this debate, and that the EU has both the tools and the responsibility to ensure access to housing as a fundamental right.
For the YDE, tackling the housing crisis is about much more than market dynamics. It is about fairness, stability, and the future of our democracies. With this paper, we call on European institutions, Member States, and civil society to act with ambition and urgency. Every young person in Europe deserves the freedom and security of a home they can afford, and together, we can make it happen.
Want to know more? Read our full Policy Paper!