April, 2026 – Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe has submitted its response to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence and Questionnaire on the Affordable Housing Act, as part of the EU’s response to housing shortages and rising housing costs.
CAN Europe’s feedback highlights that the current housing crisis is linked to a broader context of climate change, rising living costs and energy price volatility. It calls for an EU framework that enables public authorities to identify areas under housing stress and links this designation to targeted policy responses, including regulatory measures, prioritised funding and integrated planning.
It also highlights limitations in current definitions of housing stress, which rely mainly on market indicators, and calls for a broader approach that includes combined housing and energy costs, overcrowding, vacancy rates, energy poverty and building performance.
Finally, the submission emphasises the need to increase affordable housing supply through the prioritisation of a more efficient use of existing buildings, including the reuse, renovation and conversion of vacant and underused stock, alongside stronger integration of housing, energy and urban policy.
Read the full submission here.
