Housing campaigners from across Europe are increasingly coordinating their activities as rising rents, house prices and housing shortages put pressure on tenants and households across the continent.
More than 140 organisations from 20 countries gathered in Madrid in September for an international housing movement meeting held alongside The District, a major real-estate investment event.
The meeting brought together tenant unions, housing organisations and campaign groups calling for housing to be treated primarily as a social need rather than as an investment asset.
The mobilisation comes as housing costs have increased substantially across the European Union.
According to Eurostat, EU house prices increased by 53% between 2010 and 2024, while rents rose by 25% over the same period. Ireland recorded a 108% increase in rents, while Estonia recorded a 208% increase and Lithuania 177%.
Campaigners seek a European response
The Madrid gathering brought together tenant unions, housing organisations and other groups involved in housing campaigns across Europe.
The organisers described the event, known as El Barrio, as an international meeting of the European housing-rights movement.
More than 140 organisations participated, including more than 60 international organisations, with groups from more than 20 countries represented.
Campaigners called for measures including regulated rents and open-ended rental contracts.
A new pan-European alliance was also launched at the meeting, reflecting efforts by housing organisations to coordinate their activities and demands across national borders.
The campaign groups’ proposals differ from country to country, but commonly focus on rental affordability, tenant protections, housing supply and the role of investment in residential property.
European countries are taking different approaches
The growing tenant movement comes as individual European countries pursue different responses to housing pressures.
Measures include investment in social housing, cooperative housing, rent regulation, cost-rental schemes and stronger protections for tenants.
Ireland has also developed its own approach to affordable rental housing.
Its Cost Rental model is designed to provide homes at rents below comparable market levels, with rents linked to the cost of delivering and managing the homes rather than simply to market prices.
Read more: Europe’s Affordable Housing Models: Lessons for Ireland
The different approaches reflect significant differences between national housing markets, rental systems and levels of public housing provision.
New EU housing campaign launched
Housing campaigners are also seeking action at European Union level.
The “Right to Housing! Now and Forever” European Citizens’ Initiative was registered by the European Commission in July 2026.
The initiative calls for access to housing that is affordable, sustainable and fair, alongside proposals concerning regulation of parts of the housing market and the creation of an EU Housing Agency.
Signature collection began in September, and the initiative is currently listed by the European Commission as being in its collection period.
The organisers are calling for measures addressing short-term rentals and vacant properties, the conversion of empty buildings into homes, greater investment in affordable housing and stronger EU-level housing standards.
However, registration of a European Citizens’ Initiative does not mean that the European Commission supports the proposals.
The Commission states that registration confirms that the initiative meets the formal conditions for registration but does not confirm the factual accuracy of its contents or represent the Commission’s position on the proposals.
Spain becomes a focus of housing protests
Spain has become a prominent focus of the European housing debate.
Thousands of people have participated in demonstrations over housing costs, while protesters established an encampment at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol following the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from the apartment where she had lived for decades.
The case became a focus of public attention around rising rents, tenant security and the difficulties faced by long-term renters when properties change ownership.
Abascal was subsequently allowed to return to the apartment following an agreement with the owner.
The protests have continued as campaigners call for stronger tenant protections and measures addressing housing costs.
Spain introduces new housing measures
The Spanish government has responded with two housing decrees covering areas including evictions, rental contracts, temporary accommodation and other parts of the housing market.
The first decree extends protection against certain evictions involving vulnerable people without alternative accommodation until the end of 2030.
It also introduces measures affecting certain property purchases and temporary and room-by-room rental arrangements.
A second decree focuses on rental-contract stability, including provisions concerning extensions of tenancy agreements and protections for tenants in specified circumstances.
The measures are now subject to the parliamentary process.
Read more: Spanish Landlords Face One Year’s Rent Compensation for Unjustified Lease Non-Renewal
Housing costs have risen across Europe
The mobilisation comes against a wider European housing affordability problem.
Eurostat data show that rents increased by 25% across the EU between 2010 and 2024, although the increase varied substantially between countries.
Ireland recorded a 108% increase over the period, compared with 208% in Estonia and 177% in Lithuania.
House prices also increased substantially across the EU, rising by 53% between 2010 and 2024.
The figures provide a measure of how housing costs have changed over time, although they do not by themselves measure affordability for individual households.
Housing costs are also affected by household incomes, mortgage rates, housing supply and the availability of social and affordable housing.
Young people face particular housing pressures
Housing affordability is also closely connected to the ability of younger people to establish independent households.
High rents and house prices can make it more difficult for younger adults to leave the family home, save for a deposit or secure suitable accommodation.
Eurostat data for 2025 showed that 26.9% of people aged 15 to 29 in the EU lived in overcrowded households, compared with 16.8% of the total population.
The rate was particularly high among younger age groups.
Read more: One in Four Young Europeans Lived in Overcrowded Homes in 2025
Overcrowding is a separate indicator from affordability, but it provides another measure of housing conditions experienced by young people across Europe.
A growing European housing debate
The emergence of coordinated housing campaigns does not mean European countries are adopting a single approach to the housing crisis.
National and regional governments continue to pursue different policies, while tenant organisations are campaigning for measures that can go further, including longer rental contracts, rent regulation and restrictions on speculative investment.
The European Citizens’ Initiative provides another mechanism for campaigners to place housing issues on the EU policy agenda.
However, reaching the required threshold for a successful European Citizens’ Initiative would not automatically create new EU housing legislation.
The EU’s role in housing is also different from that of national and local governments, which retain major responsibilities for housing supply, planning, tenancy regulation and social housing.
Housing moves higher up Europe’s political agenda
The growth of housing campaigns across several European countries reflects the increasing attention being given to rents, house prices, housing supply and tenant security.
The scale and nature of the problem differs between countries, as do the policies being used to address it.
For campaigners, the Madrid meeting represents an attempt to coordinate those concerns across borders.
For governments, the challenge is being addressed through different combinations of housing construction, regulation, taxation, tenant protection and investment.
The continuing debate shows that housing affordability has become an increasingly prominent issue across Europe, while the policy response remains largely shaped by individual countries and their housing systems.
Sources: Eurostat; European Commission; European Citizens’ Initiative; El Barrio/European Action Coalition for the Right to Housing
