EU urges Member States to boost housing supply in stressed areas

The European Commission has adopted Recommendation (EU) 2026/2069 of 9 September 2026 on housing affordability and supply in areas under housing stress, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series) on 15 September 2026. The non-binding instrument, based on Article 292 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, sets out guidance for Member States’ competent authorities to address affordability challenges through place-based responses focused on housing below market prices. It was signed in Brussels by Dan Jørgensen, Member of the Commission.

The Recommendation responds to what the Commission describes as a housing affordability crisis that “weakens social cohesion and competitiveness” by limiting labour and educational mobility. While the most disadvantaged are struggling the most, a growing number of middle-income households — including essential workers such as health-sector staff and teachers — now face difficulties accessing affordable housing, with pressures highest in urban areas and tourist hotspots.

Housing acceleration plans

The core of the Recommendation is the design and implementation of housing acceleration plans in and around areas under housing stress, tailored to local and regional conditions and focused on housing below market prices. Such plans should be based on relevant data, cover commuting zones and functional urban areas, and be supported by sufficient financial and human resources.

• Address housing shortages and territorial disparities, including for young people, students and apprentices.
• Ensure synergies with policies on housing exclusion, construction, transport, climate resilience and energy renovation.
• Be developed in close cooperation with public and private housing providers and citizens.

Accelerating construction and renovation

To speed up delivery, the Commission urges authorities to prioritise approval processes for affordable and social housing and for renovations, and to work towards maximum processing times for permits, including 60-day permitting timeframes and tacit approval where appropriate. It also encourages interoperable digital permitting systems and the gradual introduction of Building Information Modelling-based workflows.

Contracting authorities are urged to use the flexibilities of the Union public procurement framework, including framework contracts, joint procurement, accelerated procedures and modern methods of construction such as prefabrication and off-site building. The Recommendation also calls for upskilling and reskilling in the construction sector and for sufficient administrative capacity at local and regional level.

Housing below market prices and existing stock

Authorities are encouraged to increase the share of housing below market prices, legally recognising diverse providers — municipal, state-owned, cooperative, community land trust, limited-profit or non-profit — and making full use of Decision (EU) 2025/2630. Where housing is subsidised by public resources, it should be designated for that purpose for at least the 20-year minimum required by that Decision to prevent speculation.

The Recommendation also calls for better use of the existing building stock, including revising building codes, tax systems and co-ownership laws to incentivise renovation, repurposing and densification, and encouraging private market-rate rental and build-to-rent development where rental markets are underdeveloped.

Funding and financing

The Commission notes that an additional EUR 150 billion annually is needed on top of current public funding and private investment to meet housing needs over the next decade. It points to at least EUR 47.7 billion already mobilised under the current multi-annual financial framework through cohesion policy funds, InvestEU, LIFE, the single market programme and Horizon Europe, plus EUR 4.7 billion in additional investments proposed through cohesion policy reprogramming.

New funding possibilities will be unlocked in the next multi-annual financial framework (2028-2034). Authorities are encouraged to use the Pan-European Investment Platform for affordable and sustainable housing, revolving funds, and financing instruments developed with national and regional promotional banks, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank Group.

The Recommendation complements the Commission’s proposal for an Affordable Housing Act and the proposal for a Council Recommendation on fighting housing exclusion, and builds on the European affordable housing plan adopted on 16 December 2025. For readers, it signals a coordinated EU push to make housing affordable again in the cities and regions where the crisis bites hardest, giving local authorities a concrete toolbox to expand supply and protect affordability.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 15.9.2026, p. 1 (official reference: Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/2069, CELEX L_202602069).