The housing crisis is one of the biggest problems for Poles. There is a lack of affordable housing, and we spend on average about 18 percent of our income on housing-related costs. However, the housing crisis is now affecting almost all of Europe. According to Eurostat data, in nine EU countries since 2010, house prices have more than doubled. “We need to accelerate actions and focus on ensuring that people have somewhere to live, as homelessness is a big problem in Europe,” assesses PO MEP Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak.
According to a study by ARC Rynek i Opinia for the Habitat for Humanity Foundation, every fourth person in Poland is struggling with housing problems. 23 percent of Poles have seen a deterioration in their housing situation over the last two years. This percentage is more than twice as high as among those declaring improvement.
“The housing crisis is about high housing prices and their low availability. A huge problem that people are facing is 40 percent of their household budget being spent on rent or mortgage repayment,” emphasized Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak in an interview with the Newseria Biznes agency.
According to Eurostat data, in the second quarter of 2024, property prices in the EU rose by an average of 2.9 percent, and rents by 3 percent annually. Between 2010 and the second quarter of 2024, the increases reached respectively 52 percent, and rents – 25 percent. Prices tripled in Estonia and Hungary during this period, and doubled in Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Bulgaria. In Poland too, average prices rose by nearly 100 percent and rents by 80 percent.
According to Eurostat, in 2021, on average, Poles spent 17.9 percent of income on housing-related costs, which puts us below the EU average (18.9 percent). According to a survey conducted for the Habitat for Humanity Foundation, nearly half (48 percent) of Poles spend up to 30 percent of their income on housing expenses, and another 29 percent spend between 30 to 40 percent of income. A quarter of people spend over 40 percent of income on housing-related costs.
In Poland, the housing cost overburden rate, the percentage of the population of a given country that spends at least 40 percent of income on housing costs, affects 6.7 percent of urban households and 5.3 percent in rural areas. This is also below the EU average, which stands at 10.4 and 6.2 percent respectively.
“Not everyone can afford to live in their own apartment currently. Many young people still live with their parents, many young families delay the decision to have a bigger family due to a lack of their own apartment,” says the MEP. “For these reasons, we must ensure that these homes are available, decent, and cheap.”
According to GUS research, 53 percent of young adults (aged 25-34) in Poland still live with their parents, and this figure is increasing, whereas the EU average, as indicated by the “Housing Sector – First Half of 2024” analysis prepared by Cushman & Wakefield, is about 30 percent.
“There are many reasons for the crisis, but now is not the time to talk about the causes, but to solve these problems. I hope that the new commissioner, proposed by Ursula von der Leyen, will find a solution [said to be Danish Dan Jorgensen]. I think it will be an important portfolio and he will have a lot of work to do. As MEPs have indicated, this problem does not only affect Poland, but many other countries throughout Europe,” points out Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak.
The lack of cheap housing and rising living costs have become a major issue in election campaigns at both national and European levels. Therefore, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced the appointment of an EU commissioner in the new term whose task will be to oversee housing matters, although housing policy is not a competence of the union. In her political directives, von der Leyen emphasized the urgent need to solve the housing crisis, proposing the first ever European plan for social housing. This topic was also addressed by MEPs during the last plenary session. Some of them appealed to allocate more funds for housing from the fund dedicated to combatting the effects of COVID-19. The issue of regulating short-term rentals, particularly problematic in tourist-friendly cities and towns, and reducing speculation in the housing market also arose during the debate.
“During the debate, there was talk of market regulation, planning – this is a preview of what awaits us, but I would be cautious here and wait to see what the European Commission proposes,” evaluates the MEP.
Ursula von der Leyen announces cooperation with the European Investment Bank on an investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing construction, which aims to attract more private and public investment.
The MEP emphasized during the debate that the Commission cannot forget about seniors and people with disabilities, who are waiting for the development of supported housing. In her view, in the European Parliament, concerted action is needed to develop comprehensive and realistic solutions backed by funding from cohesion funds. As she points out, in addition to EU regulations, programs tailored to the specifics of each country are needed.
“Our government has a housing policy that is based on three pillars: social, cooperative, and ownership. This is a way, but as we can see, we need to speed up all these actions and focus on ensuring that people have somewhere to live. Homelessness in Europe is quite a big problem and we need to act to limit such situations as much as possible,” emphasizes Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak.
