António Costa expressed his approval of the European Commission's publication of the Affordable Housing Law. He emphasized that ensuring housing affordability is one of the most pressing and concrete problems for millions of Europeans across the continent.
According to the former Prime Minister of Portugal, this new regulation aims to establish a unified European framework for protecting the availability and affordability of housing in areas experiencing the greatest housing pressure. Costa noted the need for action at all levels—local, regional, national, and European—to solve this problem, continuing to push the housing issue onto the European agenda.
The European Commission's initiative arose against the backdrop of growing concern over rising housing costs in many member states and difficulties in obtaining affordable housing, especially in urban areas and regions with high real estate market pressure.
The new Affordable Housing Law, presented today by the European Commission, establishes a general framework for identifying housing pressure zones in the EU and defines the conditions that must be met before imposing restrictions on local residency or other uses of properties that are not the main place of residence.
The European Commission proposed that restrictions on local residency can only be applied in EU housing pressure zones if authorities demonstrate that it affects housing affordability or availability for at least three years.
Under the proposal, national, regional, or local authorities must also prove that without new measures, a reduction in housing pressure is unlikely, taking into account factors such as population dynamics and the supply-demand ratio.
Any imposed restrictions must be proportionate to the identified problem, limited to the necessary territorial area, and based on objective, transparent, and verifiable data. They will only apply to properties and land acquired after the measure comes into force and should primarily target large-scale, frequent, or commercial forms of local residency that are most likely to reduce the supply of long-term rental housing.
These measures can last for a maximum of five years, with the possibility of extension after a reassessment. The proposal excludes the main place of residence and does not provide for a general ban on local residency, leaving the decision on intervention to the member states and local authorities.
Brussels also asserts that restrictions on local residency are insufficient to solve structural housing shortages, pointing to the need for measures aimed at increasing supply, such as building and renovating homes, as well as simplifying licensing procedures.
The proposal, which aims to create a common structure for assessing housing pressure and the proportionality of short-term accommodation restrictions, must now be agreed upon by the Member States and the European Parliament.