Germany
According to the Eduard Pestel Institute, there was a shortage of 700.000 housing units in Germany in 2023. Or even more than a million, according to other assessments.
Making the subject a priority, the government of Olaf Scholz, in power since the end of 2021, has committed to building 400.000 new housing units per year, but the objective is far from being achieved. The situation is aggravated by the crisis in the construction sector over the past year.
In a country where 49% of the population is renting, rents have increased significantly in large cities: +40% in Berlin, 32% in Leipzig, 21% in Cologne between 2018 and 2023, according to the real estate portal Immoscout24.
In the fall, the government announced an 18 billion euro plan for the construction of social housing, tax benefits for builders, the suspension of strict energy standards and a budget of 500 million euros to transform offices and commercial buildings into homes.
Ireland
Between rising land prices and construction costs, and the provision of social housing neglected by successive governments, the country is experiencing a chronic lack of affordable housing.
Average rents have doubled since 2010. In Dublin, they now exceed 2.000 euros per month, i.e. the net salary of many civil servants, and real estate purchase prices represent up to ten times the national average annual salary.
Additional pressure on demand from the growing arrival of refugees fueled a narrative fueled by the far right that helped trigger the worst riots in decades in Dublin in November.
The number of people in emergency accommodation has increased so much that the government announced in December that due to a lack of places, some asylum seekers would be offered tents.
The executive is targeting 33.000 new homes per year by 2030, a number well below estimated needs.
United Kingdom
Inflation and rising interest rates have also worsened the housing crisis in recent months in the United Kingdom.
In England alone, more than 157.000 households were homeless, up almost 9% in the 12 months to March 2023. Up 10% to 104.510, the number of households living in temporary accommodation reached a unequaled level since official statistics began in 1998.
While the need in England is estimated at 340.000 new homes per year by the National Housing Federation, the government is struggling to deliver on its promise to build 300.000 homes per year from 2025. It nevertheless assures that it will achieve its objective of million new housing units over the legislature (2019-2024).
Among the measures announced for England - housing is a competence devolved in the four nations of the United Kingdom - include aid for first-time buyers, a reform to better protect tenants and even reinforced state control over construction planning by local authorities.
Portugal
In Portugal, where the number of homeless people increased sharply, the housing crisis worsened after 2011 when the country, then threatened with bankruptcy, opened up to foreign investments, which contributed to a sharp rise in prices real estate.
To compensate for the lack of housing and curb real estate speculation, the government introduced measures in October aimed at encouraging owners to traditional rental, with a suspension of new licenses for furnished tourist accommodation (such as Airbnb) in tense areas. The State also plans to build some 32.000 new housing units.
The “golden visas” regime granting residence permits to wealthy investors has also been reviewed.
However, the country experienced its third major day of demonstrations in less than a year on Saturday to demand solutions on the subject.
Netherlands
Immigration, the cost of living and the housing crisis which particularly affects young Dutch people were major themes in the November legislative elections, won by the far right.
It is difficult to find affordable accommodation, whether for students or asylum seekers. The average price of housing there is 430.000 euros, according to a report published in November.
“This crisis has developed over the past two decades because of a policy aimed at encouraging the market to replace the government in the provision of housing,” said a senior UN official in December, citing a recent study putting the number of missing homes in the Netherlands at some 390.000.
Sweden
The Swedish Housing Agency estimates that by 2030, an average of 67.300 new homes per year are needed.
However, around 70.000 homes have already been built in the capital since 2010, the equivalent of 20% of the housing stock in Stockholm.
But “newly built housing is not selling” because it is too expensive, explains Oscar Lavelid, in charge of construction projects for the city. Rents are also very high and a low-rent contract is very difficult to obtain.
According to him, this situation is largely explained by a lack of national housing policy since the 1990s.