The European Commission has presented the "European Housing Strategy"

Housing in the European Union is rapidly becoming more expensive: real estate prices are rising faster than incomes (since 2013, housing prices have risen by +60%), and the supply of housing is not keeping pace with demand. This is becoming a serious social problem for citizens of most EU countries.

According to European Commission estimates, in order to provide citizens with affordable housing, European countries need to build more than 2 million new homes each year, which is approximately 650,000 more than are currently being built. This requires additional investment of around €153 billion annually.

In December 2025, the European Commission proposed a comprehensive approach by creating a five-year "European Housing Strategy," which includes the following points: 

• increasing the supply of housing through new construction and renovation;
• support for innovation in the construction sector;
• recruitment and retraining of employees;
• solving the problem of short-term rentals in areas experiencing a housing crisis;
• reduction of costs and administrative burden;
• support for energy efficiency;
• attracting public and private investment;
• protection of the most vulnerable groups of the population.

Significant attention is paid to social housing. The plan provides for support for young people and vulnerable groups, for whom renting housing is becoming increasingly less affordable. Among the proposed solutions is the simplification of housing rental conditions.

The financial plan is backed by the following resources: within the EU budget for 2021-2027, more than €43 billion has already been allocated to housing programs, with an additional €10 billion planned to be allocated in 2026-2027. At the same time, partner financial institutions are expected to mobilise up to €375 billion in investments by 2029.

The next step will be the first-ever EU summit on housing, scheduled for 2026. The plan is to establish a European Housing Alliance — a platform for cooperation between cities, regions, states, and key market players. Also in 2026, the European Commission will present specific solutions to reduce energy costs and support people most affected by housing shortages, including initiatives to combat homelessness.

Ukrainian context

In Ukraine, housing policy is undergoing a period of formation and rethinking amid full-scale war and post-war reconstruction. At the same time, the housing shortage amounts to a staggering 600 million square meters.

As of today, the state does not have a comprehensive, long-term housing strategy comparable in scale to the European one, although individual elements of such a policy are gradually being developed. The key focus now is on rebuilding destroyed housing, providing housing for internally displaced persons, and creating financial instruments to support demand, for example, through the "єОселя" program. 

Work is currently underway to reform housing legislation. On January 13, 2026, parliament passed a law on the basic principles of housing policy. It is intended to replace the outdated Housing Code and provides for comprehensive mechanisms for providing housing. The new framework bill is intended to establish a new logic for housing policy. 

As Olena Shulyak adds:

Ukrainian housing policy is still largely regulated by the provisions of the 1983 Housing Code of the Ukrainian SSR. It is like a dilapidated building that has been repeatedly "renovated" — with numerous changes and propped up with new regulations. But in essence, it is still the same old, creaky, cold building that remains stuck in the logic of a bygone era. It is dilapidated and uncomfortable, but people continue to live in it because they simply have no alternative." 

According to the expert development community, we need to transition from ad hoc solutions to a systematic housing policy—with demand forecasting, supply stimulation, affordable housing development, and private investment attraction under clear rules of the game. 

We previously noted that Ukraine is entering a housing crisis and that the UN's conclusions confirm the forecasts of the Ukrainian Association of Developers. We also wrote about three models for creating affordable housing that are already working in Europe and should be taken into account in Ukraine's reconstruction. 

European experience shows that affordable housing works where there are not just individual projects, but comprehensive state and municipal policies — with clear rules, regulations, long-term funding, and partnerships with developers.

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