Towards an affordable housing plan
The conversion of commercial buildings into affordable housing achieves lower costs than equivalent new-build projects without compromising on living standards while resulting in lower emissions and higher energy-efficiency, according to a report by the European Commission.
The report, Conversion of offices into affordable housing, examines four cases of office to-residential-conversions in Ireland, Belgium, France, and Spain.
The conversions created an opportunity for the development of more needs-based homes as sizes, features, and functions of the units can be tailored to the needs of tenants. It should be noted that office conversions “do involve greater risks and uncertainties” than new construction due to the potential for unforeseen structural flaws or hazardous materials to be present.
The report outlines some key criteria for successful conversion projects and encourages future adoption of these where possible. Support from local actors in both the public and private sectors, as well as additional funding programmes which support increased energy efficiency or social housing, were found to be novel ways to make conversion projects more financially viable. The report also notes that streamlined permitting is an important success factor as “overly detailed building regulations require complex adjustments which drive up costs”.
There are several large-scale recommendations in the report to increase and improve the conversion of offices into affordable housing across Europe. The European Union is encouraged to “adopt policies that prioritise conversion over new construction” alongside the development of a plan to collect data on vacant office buildings. The report also calls for the upcoming Affordable Housing Plan to coordinate initiatives across Europe which are converting offices into social housing to allow for exchange of guidance and advice. As well as these recommendations for the EU, there is also a suggestion for local governments to introduce taxes on vacant office buildings.
Commission’s housing strategy
The report states that “housing has recently moved to the forefront of the European policymaking agenda”. The shift to a more interventionist housing strategy, which has become a key focus of the second Ursula von der Leyen Commission, represents a recognition of the scale of the EU’s housing crisis by their policymakers.
In her State of the Union Address in September 2025, the President of the Commission said that “for too many Europeans today, home has become a source of anxiety”. “It can mean debt or uncertainty.
“The numbers tell a painful truth. House prices are up by more than 20 per cent since 2015. Building permits down by over 20 per cent in five years. This is more than a housing crisis. It is a social crisis.” In her speech, von der Leyen also called for a “radical overhaul of the way we tackle this issue”.
This new approach was signalled by the appointment of Dan Jørgensen as the first ever Commissioner for Housing, as well as the European Commission’s European affordable housing plan, which is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2026.
A core part of the forthcoming affordable housing plan is the revision of the EU’s state aid rules to allow member states to contribute funding to increase their supply of affordable housing. Currently, EU treaty rules only allow for state aid to be used for economic development in exceptional circumstances, which supporting affordable housing projects would not be categorised as. Jørgensen told Euronews “that in the situation that we are in now and the way the rules are now, they are way too strict. So, we need to transform them”.
Another area the European Commission is targeting to alleviate the housing crisis is short-term rents. Following the update to European legislation requiring all landlords to register their short-term rental properties, further changes are expected to tackle the growing issue affecting housing supply for local residents. In 2026, the European Commission is planning to introduce additional proposals to tackle one of the key drivers of the crisis as part of the affordable housing plan.
The European Commission has also opened a call for evidence on its proposed Construction Services Act. This is intended to reduce the regulations related to cross-border market access in the building sector to encourage the production of more new homes. The adoption of the act is scheduled to be completed in the final quarter of 2026.
The European Commission’s reason for action is clear, as across the EU, the housing crisis is affecting millions of people. Adjusted for inflation, investment in residential buildings has fallen by 6 per cent since 2022 and house prices have risen by 24 per cent since 2015 which has contributed to 17 per cent of people living in overcrowded homes. Now that this shift in housing strategy has become apparent, the success of the Commission’s initiatives, chiefly the Affordable Housing Plan, will be necessary if the ongoing crisis is to be arrested.
