Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe

Resource context

This resource is the research report “Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe: Living conditions and quality of life”. It was published by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), with the recommended citation referring to the Publications Office of the European Union (Luxembourg). The report is authored by Hans Dubois and Sanna Nivakoski, with Dubois also listed as research manager, and it draws on contributions from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.

Why housing affordability and adequacy matter

The report frames unaffordable housing as a driver of homelessness, housing insecurity, financial strain, and inadequate housing conditions. It links housing problems to impacts on health and well-being, unequal opportunities, higher healthcare costs, reduced productivity, and environmental damage. It also notes that the COVID-19 pandemic increased telework (making homes workplaces) and that the war in Ukraine added housing demand (refugees) and raised utility costs.

Evidence base and approach

National-level evidence was gathered by Eurofound correspondents (April–September 2022) and complemented by desk research. The analysis draws mainly on EU-SILC and Eurofound’s “Living, working and COVID-19” e-survey, generally using pre‑pandemic data up to 2019 for structural trends, while noting comparability issues for some 2020 data series.

Housing landscape: tenure, dwelling types, and cost trends

Across the EU, about 7 in 10 people live in owner-occupied housing and 3 in 10 rent (with Germany noted as an exception where renting is slightly more common). The report highlights a decade-long decline in homeownership concentrated among younger people. It also reports that the age at which at least 50% of people live outside the parental home increased from 26 to 28 between 2007 and 2019. Regarding affordability, it reports that homeowners spent 16% of income on housing in 2019 (down from 18% in 2010), while tenants spent 31% (up from 28%). It also notes that, between 2010 and 2019, housing costs rose by 8% for homeowners and 23% for tenants, with tenant cost increases exceeding 40% in several countries (including Portugal, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Estonia and Latvia).

Who is most exposed and what problems appear

The report flags higher insecurity among private renters: in the e-survey, 46% of private rental tenants reported feeling at risk of needing to leave their accommodation within the next three months because they could no longer afford it. It also discusses groups at risk of being missed by support systems (for example, tenants without formal rental contracts, people without a fixed address, certain migrant/mobile groups, and households just above eligibility thresholds). Beyond costs, it describes adequacy issues that connect directly to sustainability goals—especially energy efficiency: 26% of the EU population reported poor insulation/energy efficiency as problematic. It also notes concerns such as lack of space (16%) and poor internet connection (14%), which became more salient during the pandemic.

Policy directions highlighted

Policy discussion spans homelessness responses (including Housing First-type approaches), protections against eviction, measures for renters and homeowners, and actions to improve energy efficiency. The report notes that many Housing First-type schemes have limited capacity—few programmes can house more than 1% of a country’s homeless population—supporting the need for scaling, better targeting, and stronger automatic triggers for assistance when payment difficulties and eviction risks emerge.