Living Cities: A peek at the EU’s Affordable Housing Plan

POLITICO’s “Living Cities” newsletter, written by Aitor Hernández-Morales, outlines what EU Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen says will be included in the European Union’s forthcoming Affordable Housing Plan. The piece frames the plan as Brussels’ political response to sharply rising housing prices and rental costs across European cities, with a focus on curbing speculative dynamics and expanding the conditions under which governments can support affordable supply.

Jørgensen argues that housing has increasingly been treated as a tradable commodity rather than a basic need. In remarks cited from appearances in the European Parliament, he says “houses are being dealt as a commodity,” comparing the logic to investors treating homes like gold, except with higher profit expectations. The commissioner signals that the plan will contain measures aimed at “target[ing] the financialization of our housing stock” and reducing “selfish speculation” on homes. While acknowledging political resistance in Parliament, he maintains that effective action on the housing crisis requires regulation, because market logic prioritizes profit rather than societal outcomes.

A central element described is a revision of EU state-aid rules to enable national governments to deploy public funding for new housing, including for middle-income households that have been priced out of markets. The article stresses that the commissioner does not present public money as sufficient on its own; rather, he emphasizes the need for public-private schemes and for investment structures that “balance steady returns with social responsibility.” He also references work with the European Investment Bank and other financial institutions to develop models that keep homes built with public funds “genuinely affordable,” implying an emphasis on long-term affordability safeguards rather than one-off subsidies.

Short-term rentals are presented as a major contributor to rising costs and neighborhood change. Although Jørgensen has not yet specified the precise measures to be used against “tourist flats,” the article highlights a sharp political stance: neighborhoods that once supported local social life and democracy are described as having become “a form of hotels” due to the spread of short-term rental use. This positions the plan as not only a supply and finance initiative, but also an attempt to regulate demand-side pressures and the commercial use of residential stock.

The plan is expected to include best-practice recommendations for city leaders. The article points to Copenhagen’s policy requiring 25 percent of homes in new developments to be public or social housing. Jørgensen uses an example of an affordable public housing block located next to one of Denmark’s most expensive waterfront apartment complexes to argue that quality is not visually or inherently tied to price. He also acknowledges that building quality affordable housing can be expensive, but states that outcomes depend on whether the private sector is obligated to share the burden—calling this “a political choice.”

No official launch date is given, but the newsletter reports that Jørgensen intends to publish the plan early, with sources suggesting a mid-December presentation ahead of an end-of-year European Council summit where leaders are expected to discuss the housing crisis. The newsletter also includes other city-policy items: green mayors from multiple European capitals calling for direct EU funding for urban projects, a Commission progress report tied to the European Declaration on Cycling (including a cited €4.5 billion earmark in the 2021–2027 budget), and a climate-health data point from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health reporting 62,775 heat-related deaths in Europe between June 1 and Sept. 30, 2024—illustrating intersecting pressures on European cities alongside housing affordability.