Homeownership declines across EU as young adults find themselves locked out of market

Between 2012 and 2020, overall homeownership declined across the EU, with decreases of more than 3 percentage points in Denmark, Cyprus, Spain, Lithuania, Finland and Bulgaria. This decrease was driven by declining ownership among young adults and low-income groups, with an increase in the proportion of young adults aged 20-29 relying on private rentals. The private rental market in Europe has seen the greatest housing insecurity and adequacy problems in recent years, including low energy efficiency.

Many young adults have been unable to move out of the family home altogether due to a lack of affordable options. The age at which at least 50% of people in the EU were living outside their parental home increased from 26 to 28 between 2007 and 2019. Between 2010 and 2019, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Belgium, Greece and Ireland faced the largest increases in people aged 25–34 living with their parents.

Eurofound’s comprehensive new report Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe identifies housing problems faced by people in the EU, population groups affected by these problems and trends over time. The report also analyses examples of policies to address housing problems, the take-up of support measures, and presents policy pointers to improve the situation.

The report addresses the situation in the broader context of the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including housing, as laid out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the housing-related rights detailed in the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Expanding the supply of quality housing is emphasised as playing an important role in putting downward pressure on rents and prices, as is the introduction of measures to reduce vacant dwellings. This issue is of particular relevance to young adults, who have simultaneously struggled with supply issues and reduced access to credit in a number of Member States following the Great Recession.

Overall, among those that have been able to access the rental market, tenants have faced steeper cost increases compared to homeowners. Private rental market tenants are in a particularly precarious situation; 46% feel at risk of needing to leave their accommodation in the next three months because they can no longer afford it and 34% report problems with poor energy efficiency.

The report also emphasises that housing policies must be targeted and appropriate, and not inadvertently exacerbate inequalities. Policies to increase housing affordability can have complex impacts that may not always improve access to housing and enhance quality of life. For example, housing benefits may drive up rent and purchase prices, and ownership support often benefits people with higher income more than those with lower incomes. It can also encourage borrowers to take-on mortgages they cannot pay back.

Speaking on the publishing of the research, Eurofound Executive Director Ivailo Kalfin emphasised the importance of meeting both the present and future needs of citizens with regards to housing in Europe, ‘This report reveals stark challenges for Europe in terms of providing both adequate and affordable housing. The first priority must be to ensure that basic rights to housing are met. This is a question of human dignity and ensuring that everyone feels that they have a stake in society in Europe. Policymakers need to also prioritise groups in vulnerable situations in all tenures when designing housing support coverage, as well as consider future needs when improving housing adequacy.’

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