On 16 December 2025, the European Commission adopted the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan.
Housing policy is primarily a responsibility of Member States, regions, and cities. With the plan, the European Commission aims to support, coordinate, and amplify national, regional, and local efforts by boosting funding and financing mechanisms, regulating short-term rentals, and simplifying rules that restrict housing supply, while promoting the sharing of good practices.
The Housing Task Force is the ad hoc structure of the Commission to coordinate the implementation of the Plan. The task force works under the responsibility of Commissioner Jørgensen, responsible for energy and housing. In the context of the annual meetings organized by the European Commission in preparation for the proposal for the country report and country-specific recommendation, ASPE (The Supreme Confederation of Multi-Child parents of Greece, as well as EPA (the Athenian Large Families Union), were invited for a meeting on Wednesday, 21/01/2026. The scope of the meeting was to discuss housing needs of vulnerable groups and medium-low income, and new housing preferences and models.
ASPE and EPA representatives described the special needs of large families in terms of housing quantity and quality, focusing mainly on the following distinct housing challenges faced by large families:
- A need for larger dwellings, which are scarce and expensive.
- Higher rental and energy costs.
- Construction is not flexible, and modular housing design that can adapt to family size
- Limited access to social housing, which is often designed for small households.
- Increased risk of housing insecurity during economic or energy crises.
Moreover, we provided recommendations for national and European housing policies that should take into account the need to:
- Integrate family-based criteria into national housing strategies.
- Collect systematic data on the housing needs of large families.
- Cooperate with family and civil-society organisations in policy design
The European Affordable Housing Plan is an important first step, but it is not sufficient on its own. Integrating the needs of large families is not only a matter of social fairness; it is essential for Europe’s long-term demographic sustainability. Affordable housing must be not only
financially accessible, but also adequate for family life.
We have also asked for a European definition of decent housing standards that has to be taken into account on all legislation aspects (eligibility and beneficiaries of policies etc.) and policies (e.g. property tax etc.)