Rental housing

Question for written answer  E-000679/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left)

In Spain, including in Navarre, the economic and employment situation of young people, together with the rising cost of housing, make it difficult for them to become independent. Only 15.9 % of young people are able to become independent and they need to spend 66 % of their income on housing to live on their own. Only 40 % of young people can live on their income while the rest depend partially or wholly on assistance from others. According to the Spanish Youth Council’s report for 2020, 54 % of young people who manage to become independent in Navarre live in rented accommodation, as a rule in shared accommodation.

• 1.Does the Commission think it is necessary to establish a maximum ratio between income and rent for the EU as a whole?
• 2.Does the Commission recommend applying correction mechanisms in order to ensure that there is enough rental housing in all European municipalities, be they large, medium, small or, for that matter, rural so as to also combat depopulation?
• 3.Does the Commission believe that unaffordable housing, together with the precarious employment faced by young people, increases social and economic uncertainty, and does it therefore plan to boost public housing for young people?