Housing in the EU: The Greens rejected the Parliament’s first report, whilst the rest of the Democrats backed it

On 10 March 2026, the European Parliament voted on report A10-0025/2026, drawn up by the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU (HOUS) under the chairmanship of rapporteur Borja Giménez Larraz (EPP). This is the Parliament’s first-ever plenary report dedicated to housing. The resolution was adopted by 367 votes in favour, 166 against and 84 abstentions, with a turnout of approximately 86 per cent of MEPs.

The vote divided the democratic bloc in an unusual way. The European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe supported the report by a large majority of their members. The Greens/EFA were the only one of the four democratic groups to reject it — none of its MEPs voted in favour, the majority voted against, and some abstained. The ECR also joined the group that supported the report. The PfE, ESN and The Left also voted against it — although these three democratic groups alone had enough votes to secure approval, regardless of how the far right voted.

The report proposes a set of measures to support construction: streamlining planning procedures with the aim of issuing planning permission within 60 days, tax relief for low- and middle-income households and first-time buyers; and strengthening European industrial self-sufficiency in the construction sector through ‘Made in the EU’ requirements for building components.

The text also calls for an ‘appropriate proportion’ of public and social housing and broadly formulated protection for tenants against excessive rent increases, without setting specific rent caps. With regard to short-term rentals such as Airbnb, the resolution calls for a balance between tourism and housing affordability, rather than a ban. The resolution also strongly condemns squatting and calls for stricter protection for property owners — it was precisely this point, together with the absence of rent caps and a lack of ambition regarding short-term rentals, that the Greens/EFA cited in their statement as the main reason for their opposition.

Rapporteur Borja Giménez Larraz (EPP) justified the vote by stating that “young people and families are suffering because Europe lacks flats”, and called for building permits to be issued more quickly. Shadow rapporteur Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (S&D) described the outcome as “the result of tough negotiations, which, like any compromise, is not perfect”. According to a press release from the group, Brigitte van den Berg negotiated on behalf of Renew Europe, stating that she believes “in a Europe where housing is a right, not a privilege” — though her formal negotiating role is not confirmed in Parliament’s documentation. The Greens/EFA’s shadow rapporteur, Maria Ohisalo, on the other hand, criticised the report as “an EPP-led report that serves to further pledge support to greedy landlords”, adding that “flats are being turned into Airbnbs and neighbours are being evicted”. Leila Chaibi was the shadow rapporteur for The Left.

Attendance was high and balanced across the democratic groups, with only the far-right PfE recording a slightly lower turnout.