Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the European Union Ordinary meeting, 3 November 2026

This is a machine transcript of the ordinary meeting of the European Parliament's Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the European Union, held on 3 November 2026. The transcript is not an official record, and speaker names are unverified. The hearing addressed speculation in housing markets, public tools for affordability, and two Commission initiatives on construction.

• Chair Irene Tinagli framed housing as a basic need, a store of wealth and a financial asset whose functions may diverge.
• ECON Vice-Chair Luděk Niedermayer cited the Savings and Investments Union, European Semester recommendations, EIB housing investment and monetary policy as relevant levers.

• Christian Oberst (German Economic Institute) argued that rising prices under excess demand are not a market failure and that the policy debate splits between market-failure and government-failure narratives.
• Oberst noted that public housing accounts for less than 1% of total housing investment and that much new construction depends on private capital.
• Julieta Perucca (The Shift) stated that housing is a human right and reported that listed residential funds hold €11 of housing for every euro of rent, citing a Parliament-commissioned study.

• Felice Squitieri (Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport) described a three-pillar Housing Plan with an initial endowment of 970 million euro, targeting 100,000 dwellings in 10 years, and about 60,000 unused public dwellings.
• Matej Mostarac (mayor of Kastav, Croatia) cited 237,000 dwellings needed against 595,000 empty units and 107,000 used for short-term tourist rental.

• Speakers from S&D, Renew, Greens, EPP and The Left disagreed on the role of markets, rent regulation, land taxation and the framing of housing as a right.
• Several contributors questioned whether the Commission's proposals on stress-tested zones and investment restrictions were sufficient.

• Mehdi Hocine (European Commission, DG GROW) reported that only around 1% of construction services are provided across borders and identified three work streams: machinery use and installation, energy-related certificates, and construction site cards. The impact assessment is due in spring with a proposal at Q3 2027 at the earliest.
• Tatiana Márquez Uriarte (Housing Task Force) said the simplification package will be finalised in 2027, following a call for evidence running from 1 July to 30 September, and stressed that standards would not be lowered.

• The transcript records the committee's stated purpose: to evaluate benefits, warnings and unintended consequences of proposed measures before informed decisions on housing supply, speculation and affordability are taken.