For the first time, Housing Rights Watch and the Housing Solutions platform organized a joint webinar on the theme "Rethinking rent control in Europe". It took place on Tuesday, December 7th on Zoom, from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM (CET).
Read our concept note on rent control here.
About the event
The sharp rise in rents in the private rental sector, particularly in cities with a strained rental market, is increasingly affecting European citizens who are having to pay more for housing. Across the European Union, about one-third of the population is housed in private rental accommodation. The increasing disparity between rent and the decrease in household incomes is pushing public authorities to regulate the rental market in order to ensure access to affordable housing for all. Increasingly used across the EU, rent controls are becoming a key measure when the property market and social housing stock are unable to meet the needs of low-income and middle-class households. In this debate, we shall hear from different speakers on the relevance and need of rent regulation in European countries.
Programme
Welcome: Ernest Urtasun, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/ European Free Alliance.
The perspective of local actors
Chair: Sarah Coupechoux, Research Manager Europe, Fondation Abbé Pierre
- A legal approach to rent regulations in the European Union. Maria Jose Aldanas, Policy Officer at FEANTSA and Coordinator of Housing Rights Watch. Presentation here.
- Public housing policies: rent regulation as part of a broader land and real estate strategy. Mr. Ulrich Soldner, Representative of the Mayor for Regional Networks and Land Strategy for the City of Ulm (Germany). Presentation here.
- The role of rent control in Barcelona's housing policy. Mr. Javier Burón Cuadrado, Housing Manager of Barcelona City Council (Spain). Presentation here.
- The view of Tenants’ associations in the Netherlands: Erik Maassen, Senior policy officer at Woonbond. Presentation here.
Reaction from international experts
Chair: Dara Turnbull, research coordinator, Housing Europe.
- Towards a more affordable rental market, Marissa Plouin, Policy Analyst, OECD. Presentation here.
- Impact of rent control: an economic perspective. Dr Konstantin A. Kholodilin, Research Associate in the Economic Policy Department. DIW, Berlin. Presentation here.
Wrap up and Closing words: Sarah Coupechoux (Abbe Pierre Foundation) and Sorcha Edwards (Housing Europe)
Summary of the debate (pdf version here):
Additional ressources :
- European Parliament, Report on the access to decent and affordable housing for all, 08/12/2020.
- FEANTSA, Fondation Abbé Pierre, The 6th Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2021, Chapter 4: Legal Developments: Rent regulation in the European Union, May 2021.
- OECD Policy Brief on Affordable Housing, Better data and policies to fight homelessness in the OECD, 2020.
- OECD Policy Brief: Social housing: a key part of past and future housing policy, 2020.
- OECD Policy Brief: A crisis on the horizon: Ensuring affordable, accessible housing for people with disabilities, 2021.
- OECD Policy Brief: Building for a better tomorrow: Policies to make housing more affordable, 2021.
- OECD Affordable Housing Database
- Hanna Ketunnen, Hannu Ruonavaara, Rent regulation in 21st century Europe. Comparative perspectives, May 2020.
- Michael Byrne, Does rent regulation work?, December 2021.
