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Sixth Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2021

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Sixth Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2021 SIXTH OVERVIEW OF HOUSING EXCLUSION IN EUROPE 2021 Fondation Abbé Pierre - FEANTSA THIS IS A JOINT PUBLICATION BY FEANTSA AND THE ABBÉ PIERRE FOUNDATION COORDINATION ACKNOW‑ # Chloé Serme-Morin # Sarah Coupechoux LEDGEMENTS CONTRIBUTORS # Maria-José Aldanas # Manuel Domergue # Freek Spinnewijn # Robbie Stakelum # Noria Derdek # Pauline Portefaix # Samara Jones WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE WITH CONTENT AND DISTRIBUTION # FEANTSA and FAP's teams and communication officers # The FEANTSA Board of Directors and President Kjell Larsson and FEANTSA member organisations # All the people and partners who contributed by questionnaire, interview or testimonies to the report, in particular Jarda & Kateřina (Czech Republic), Tommi & Tiina (Finland), Gabriel and Marco (Italy), Kirstie & LM (Ireland), Nathalie and the Itinova discussion group (France), Maelys Garcia (ATD Quart-Monde), Melanie Schmit (HF4Y, Netherlands), Juha Kahila, Juha Soivio, Saija Turunen, Taina Hytönen (Y-Foundation, Finland), Katarzyna Przybylska (Habitat for Humanity, Poland), Agnieszka Sikora (Foundation ‘po DRUGIE’, Poland), Brian Doree & Tim McQuade (Depaul, Northern Ireland), Lisa O'Brien & Aisling Reidy (Focus Ireland, Ireland), Barbara Unterlerchner & Anja Christanell (Neunerhaus, Austria) Kirsten Asmussen (Project Outside – Udenfor, Denmark), Liv Kristensen & Hermund Urstad (Hubsbanken, Norway), Wayne Stanley (Simon Communities, Ireland), Roberta Pascucci & Caterina Cortese (fioPSD, Italy) Ursula Jörg (Caritas-Förderzentrum St. Christophorus, Einrichtung der Wohnungslosenhilfe, Germany). TRANSLATION & PROOFREADING # Elizabeth Hayes and Tara Horan # Proofreading by Suzannah Young GRAPHIC DESIGN # Genaro Studio MAY 2021 SIXTH OVERVIEW OF HOUSING EXCLUSION IN EUROPE 2021 EDITO- RIAL or more than a year now, the pandemic in danger with their transition to independence has been playing havoc with our compromised. solidarity and social protection For the European Union and Member States, 2021 systems – already undermined by the will be a pivotal year. The emergency measures 2008 financial crisis which exposed taken at the outset of the pandemic and regularly glaring inequalities. The pandemic has hit the F extended to limit social and health disasters poorest households hardest, particularly those – freeing up accommodation, moratoria on in insecure employment and young people who evictions, etc. – are temporary in nature. Without are struggling to find their place in Europe's more long-term provisions to extend these exclusionary housing markets. protections, Europe will face a wave of poverty Approaching housing in strictly material terms with a growing number of people at risk of – as a financial asset and not as a fundamental losing their home or accommodation when the right – has made it a key driver of inequality measures come to an end. throughout the pandemic. While for some The previous editions of this report have shown housing represents the first line of defence that ending homelessness is not a utopian against the pandemic by enabling self-isolation dream if we use the Housing First approach and social distancing, for others it represents going forward, and that economic recovery can a danger when it is unfit, unsuitable and be built on effective, inclusive and sustainable overcrowded. For those deprived of a decent, regulation of housing markets. For the first adequate and affordable home of their own, time, the European Union seems to have the the pandemic has had particularly drastic necessary tools to address extreme poverty and consequences. housing exclusion through, for example, the Despite significant mobilisation of services European Platform on Combating Homelessness for the most disadvantaged along with the which is due to be launched in June 2021. Now introduction of several emergency measures to more than ever, implementing the universal alleviate the effects of the recession, extreme and fundamental right to dignified, adequate poverty and homelessness have gained ground and affordable housing has become an urgent and are affecting new segments of the population. necessity. Every effort must be made to turn this Public funds have not always been adequate goal into reality. to meet need, abandoning the most vulnerable among us, as is evidenced by the queues for food banks. Young people in particular have been hit Freek Spinnewijn by the economic consequences of the pandemic, Director, FEANTSA hindered in pursuing training or education, in accessing employment, in finding housing and Christophe Robert in simply living their lives. Europe's youth are Managing Director, Abbé Pierre Foundation Photo : Ljubisa Danilovic | Fondation Abbé Pierre CONTENTS # CHAP. 1 HOMELESSNESS IN EUROPE: THE LEGACY OF A DECADE-LONG SOCIAL EMERGENCY AND A YEAR-LONG PANDEMIC. 9 1. A cementing of the worsening trends in homelessness that we have witnessed over the past decade ....................................................12 2. Very worrying prospects in the wake of the pandemic and ballooning poverty levels in Europe .......................................................................15 3. Policies to fight homelessness in Europe: what we have learned from the pandemic ......................................................................................................16 4. European momentum and recommendations ....................................................18 # CHAP. 2 HOUSING EXCLUSION AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE: INDEPENDENCE INTERRUPTED BY COVID-19 ................... 29 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................31 1. Lockdown combined with housing exclusion: young people on the front lines of Europe's dysfunctional housing markets ......................34 The family home: pitfall or privilege? .............................................................34 The difficulty young people face when accessing housing .....................37 The harmful consequences of worsening housing conditions for young people ...................................................................................................41 2. Housing exclusion as an obstacle to independence, personal development and integration ................................................................47 Inadequate public funding to fight poverty among young people. 47 Negative effects on potential integration ......................................................51 The consequences of the pandemic on worsening housing difficulties and integration for young people ..............................53 3. Investing in young people's future by facilitating access to housing and repairing safety nets ..........................................................................................57 Developing housing solutions adapted to the most vulnerable. 57 Ensuring basic resources and a safety net for all .......................................62 Conclusions and Recommendations. .66 # CHAP. 3 EUROPEAN INDEX OF HOUSING EXCLUSION 2021 .......................................................77 Opening remarks .............................................................................................................. 80 1. The price of housing – ten years of steadily escalating housing costs ........81 2. Unfit housing and poor living conditions – people experiencing housing exclusion worst affected by Covid-19 ...................................................87 3. Social factors aggravating housing difficulties ..................................................93 4. Close-ups on housing exclusion: Belgium, Hungary, Lithuania, Finland ..................................................................100 # CHAP. 4 LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS: RENT REGULATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ...................................................................121 Introduction ........................................................................................................................122 - Germany – a unique model ..................................................................................125 - Rent controls in France ........................................................................................ 128 - The collective bargaining system in Sweden ................................................. 129 - Denmark – a complex system of rent controls ..............................................130 - Indicative or controlled rents in the Brussels region ................................... 133 - Catalonia’s new rent control system .................................................................134 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................136 APPENDICES ....................................................................................................... 138 HOUSING EXCLUSION IN EUROPE: KEY STATISTICS ........................................................................................... 152 8 # CHAP. 1 HOMELESSNESS IN EUROPE THE LEGACY OF A DECADE-LONG SOCIAL EMERGENCY AND A YEAR-LONG PANDEMIC 9 # CHAP. 1 HOMELESSNESS IN EUROPE THE LEGACY OF A DECADE-LONG SOCIAL EMERGENCY AND A YEAR-LONG PANDEMIC revious editions of this report highlighted the dramatic increase in homelessness over the preceding decade as well as how the profile of people excluded from housing markets has diversified. In 2019, FEANTSA and the Abbé Pierre Foundation estimated the minimum number of homeless people sleeping
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