Concrete Europe Position Paper on Affordable and Sustainable Housing

Europe is facing an escalating affordable housing crisis, as demand increasingly exceeds supply in many urban areas. This imbalance is pushing low- and middle-income households into housing insecurity. The situation is further aggravated by limited public investment – driven in part by rising construction costs – and a growing shortage of skilled labour in the construction sector, particularly in cities such as Berlin, Paris, and Dublin. According to Eurostat^[1], over 8% of the EU population spends more than 40% of their income on housing, surpassing the threshold for housing cost overburden. In 2024, the European Commission announced a comprehensive European Affordable Housing Plan to tackle the housing crisis by increasing public and private investment and revising state aid rules to support energy-efficient projects. As part of this plan, a dedicated Strategy for Housing Construction will be developed as a key component aimed at boosting housing supply by enhancing productivity and competitiveness in the sector. Concrete Europe fully supports this initiative, emphasising the three pillars of sustainability: environmental responsibility, economic feasibility, and social inclusion.

Concrete Europe aims to provide policy recommendations for the affordable and sustainable European Housing Plan, including the Strategy for Housing Construction, and outline concrete as a durable, energy-efficient, and recyclable material that meets affordable housing standards.

Read the position paper: 250718_CE_Affordable_Housing_Position_Paper_final