European Charter for Housing

May 2006

Despite thedecision of the European Parliament in July 2005 to make expenditure on housingrenewal eligible for European structural funding, housing is a matter that isgenerally seen as a national rather than a European competence.

However, inApril 2006 an all party group of members of the European Parliament ‘UrbanLogement’ published proposals for a European Charter for housing that wouldmake 'healthy, decent and affordable accommodation' a fundamental right of allEuropean Union citizens. The Conference of Presidents of the EuropeanParliament that consists of the European Parliament president and the chairs ofthe political parties have now adopted the Charter.

The Charteroutlines the potential of housing policies to contribute to the social,economic and territorial cohesion in the European Union. It also stresses thatsustainable urban development must be complemented by sustainable housingpolicies that promote energy efficiency and stem urban sprawl. The Charterurges the use of European Union funds to renovate social housing.

The Charteridentifies housing as a problem in all European Union states, calls for housingto be ‘integrated into the economic, social and territorial cohesion policy ofthe European Union’ and says:

“Housing isa field at the heart of the social problems met by all European Unioncountries. Many European cities experience real housing difficulties such ashigh cost of housing or antiquated buildings, which undeniably affect thequality of life of the citizens.

“The lack of decent accommodation at a moderateprice constitutes an obstacle to competitiveness, employment and socialinclusion insofar as it weakens even more the most disadvantaged people.Without a proper home it becomes really difficult to find a job, study orsimply live in the way that one has the right to live in Europe.

“The purpose of this proposal for a EuropeanCharter for Housing is to raise the question, at a European level, of thehousing problem in Europe, an issue today largely influenced by many Europeandecisions.

“This text also represents an opportunity toenunciate several principles, such as the right to housing, and to stress theneed for the European Union to lead community policies that are able to createa favourable and incentive framework for the Member States’ housing policies.”

For fullbriefing paper please click here.