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Across Europe, the housing crisis is being felt deeply. Young people in particular are frequently unable to buy or rent a home close to their job or social ties, oftentimes leaving them stranded in their family home.

For the first time, the EU has taken on the challenge of the housing crisis, tasking Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with providing solutions.

While a slew of potential fixes are being considered, conservative politicians argue that the EU itself is partially responsible for the housing crisis, pointing the finger at environmental regulations crafted in Brussels. These green rules, they say, are making it expensive and difficult to build, preventing the market from meeting demand.

The key to solving the housing crisis, they claim, is to slash climate regulations on the construction and real estate sectors, which will help to unleash a wave of new construction.

However, a new report by independent climate think tank E3G finds that housing sustainability and affordability are not opposing forces, but rather can go hand-in-hand.

The report examined the housing situation in two European nations - Denmark and Poland - and found that EU legislation is playing a crucial role in ensuring that investments flow towards sustainable and affordable housing stock.

Weakening regulation, the report states, would risk market confusion and could slow progress, making the crisis even worse.

E3G’s Roxana Dela Fiamor, one of the report’s authors, joins the Urban Report to discuss how Europe’s climate and housing crises can be addressed in tandem.

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