Energy poverty is deepening Europe’s housing crisis

The European Commission’s BUILD UP platform republished a research overview on 13 October linking Europe’s housing crisis with energy poverty. The BUILD UP publication says almost 10% of the EU population spends more than 40% of disposable income on housing and utilities, while a similar share cannot keep homes adequately warm.

The PREFIGURE project studied 16 initiatives in eight countries and surveyed nearly 30,000 households; HouseInc is surveying about 15,000 households in eight countries. For Hungary, the practical point is that renovation effects must be measured together with rent, financing and displacement risks.

The new platform entry republishes the original research feature dated 13 August, so it is not a new EU law. Our coverage of the Brussels housing-supply dialogue and Hungarian house prices provides the wider context. The next test is whether the projects can demonstrate measurable housing-cost and energy-bill outcomes, and whether those findings enter EU or national programmes.