New report spotlights housing crisis impacts in rural areas
A new study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU highlights the problems facing rural housing. To make housing policy more inclusive and resilient, the report calls for coordinated action in three areas – stronger legislation and standards, increased finance and investment, and enhanced capacity, data and public support.
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Housing is considered a fundamental need and a right, but across the EU millions of people cannot access decent, sustainable and affordable homes. The new study for the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU (HOUS) looks at housing needs in the EU, the impacts of housing scarcity and how the EU can help tackle the crisis.
Stagnant wages alongside rising borrowing costs have eroded affordability, even as the need for housing has increased, while construction has not kept pace with demand. In 2024, around 6.3% of rural households in Europe spent more than 40% of their income on housing. In some countries – Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania – a higher proportion of households in rural areas are spending over 40% of their income on housing compared to those in towns and cities.
Rural areas are often confronted with deteriorating housing and limited investment, and rural homes are more likely to lack modern facilities or suffer from poor insulation. Rural housing conditions are typically better in Member States with higher levels of socioeconomic development, such as Scandinavian countries, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Less populated rural areas with a higher proportion of farmers in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe face more challenges, including less access to adequate housing and lower incomes.
Inadequate, unsustainable and unaffordable housing affects physical and mental well-being, social inclusion, labour mobility and educational outcomes. It also exacerbates inequalities across income levels, age groups, gender and vulnerable populations.
EU legislation and funding mechanisms have contributed to improving housing quality, but the impacts are uneven due to differences in national transposition, administrative capacity and financial resources. Several new EU initiatives are set to help improve access to affordable, sustainable and good-quality housing in rural areas, including the recently launched European Affordable Housing Plan, the European strategy for housing construction and the Social Climate Fund.
Explore the latest Rural Pact resources on the topic of housing.