SOLIDAR webinar on the Affordable Housing Plan – the future of housing must be socially just and sustainable
SOLIDAR opened the very hot month of July with a webinar on an equally hot topic for the European Union: affordable housing. The webinar, titled “Shaping a Socially Just and Sustainable European Affordable Housing Plan”, took place on 1st July and gathered experts from civil society, trade unions, and EU institutions to assess the potential of the Affordable Housing Plan to promote a fairer and greener Europe and identify key elements to ensure its success.
The webinar was introduced by Carlos Roldán Mejías, Social Policy Coordinator at SOLIDAR, who highlighted the prominent role of housing policy in the agenda of the new EU mandate as shown by the announcement of the upcoming EU Affordable Housing Plan. He stressed that this is a key window of opportunity to ensure that housing is recognised and protected as a fundamental right in Europe and that housing policies are strengthened as an integral part of a just transition. He finally summarised some key recommendations by SOLIDAR on this upcoming initiative, including connecting affordable housing measures with the fight against homelessness, ensuring that the most marginalised in our societies are also the target of the Plan and that adequate (public) resources are mobilised.
Martina Corti, Social Affairs Officer at SOLIDAR moderated the panel discussion. Here are the main takeaways from each intervention:
Emiliano Rocchetti, International Union of Tenants, mentioned the main challenges that tenants face in the current housing market, including the financilisation phenomenon which drives prices up, and the lack of affordable housing solutions. He therefore indicated some solutions, including rent caps, increased transparency and building new affordable housing stock. He also underlined the importance of residential democracy and the importance of tenants’ participation in housing policies to ensure these are fair and effectikve.
Maite Arrondo, Consultant in Housing Policies and member of the Advisory Board of the Association of Local Democracies ALDA, explored the root causes of the ongoing housing crisis and stressed that policy change needs to be based on the idea that housing is a right and not a commodity. This must be accompanied by adequate resources and putting social needs at the center of housing policies. She also reiterated the importance of civil society organisations in offering good practices of accessible and affordable housing and how their involvement in policymaking is vital to produce the systemic shift needed.
Stefan Moser, DG ENER, emphasised that while housing remains primarily a national responsibility, the EU aims to support member states through funding, coordination, and knowledge-sharing under the upcoming European Affordable Housing Plan. He also mentioned that the European Commission is currently in a “listening phase” and is gathering input from stakeholders on how to design this initiative. He specified that the Commission is also currently exploring the possibility of optimising available resources. In this perspective, he also stressed the intention to involve the private sector.
Michaela Kauer, City of Vienna, highlighted that cities face growing challenges in balancing social justice and sustainability in housing, especially due to financialization, short-term rentals, and funding shifts. Stronger EU regulation and support, along with social networks like SOLIDAR, are key to tackling these systemic issues. She added that Vienna’s housing model offers key practices for the EU’s Affordable Housing Plan, including strong local governance, a constitutional commitment to housing as a public good, and integration of social, environmental, and gender equality goals. She particularly stressed the importance of gender-sensitive housing policies.
Christian Fölzer, EFBWW & Bau-Holz Trade Union, added that in Austria, trade unions play a direct role in social housing by owning housing companies and advocating for affordable, quality homes. This model, especially visible in Vienna, could inspire EU-level strategies amid growing housing demand and shrinking construction rates. He explained that improving energy efficiency in housing requires a skilled workforce, and while Austria benefits from strong vocational training, there’s still a shortage of qualified workers. The Plan should support upskilling across the EU, including better integration and protection of foreign workers—an area where trade unions can play a key role.
In conclusion, it is clear that the lack of adequate public investment is among the root causes of the crisis, together with the financialisation of the housing market, short-term rentals and the lack of affordable and social housing solutions.
Among the solutions presented by the speakers are rent regulation including rent caps, the prohibition of speculation in the housing market, ambitious long-term investment in affordable housing and the protection and upskilling of construction workers.
SOLIDAR will build on the discussions of the webinar to keep the conversation with the stakeholders open on how to make sure that the European Affordable Housing Plan is a key tool to ensure affordable, fair and sustainable housing for all.
This webinar was organized in the framework of SOLIDAR’s Organisational Strategy 2021-2025 and the program ”Realising Social Europe for All and With All”, supported by the European Union, through the EaSI strand of the ESF+ programme.
