The Council of the European Union has adopted a recommendation calling on member states to strengthen efforts to prevent homelessness and address wider forms of housing exclusion. The framework combines emergency support with longer-term measures intended to help people obtain adequate, secure homes.
Its proposed approach is person-centred and housing-led. It urges countries to establish or reinforce national and regional strategic frameworks, supported by objectives that are relevant, time-bound, achievable and measurable. The recommendation is intended to guide policy rather than set out an immediate, uniform housing programme for every member state.
Earlier support and prevention
The recommendation encourages authorities to identify households at risk before they lose their homes. Early-warning systems are among the tools proposed. For people facing housing insecurity, possible targeted support includes debt counselling, safeguards against forced eviction, emergency rental assistance and mediation.
It also calls for member states to ensure that no child is deprived of adequate housing. Children and young people leaving institutional or foster care should have access to housing and support. These commitments place prevention and transitions out of care alongside responses to people who are already without a home.
Simpler routes to services
For people experiencing homelessness or other forms of housing exclusion, the Council recommends making it easier to reach relevant services. A “one-stop shop” model could provide timely referrals to social security agencies, social assistance, and social and health services. Individual assessments and tailored support plans are also part of the approach.
Community-based outreach teams would bring together different forms of assistance. The framework envisages multidisciplinary teams that can include health and care professionals, social workers and food banks. The aim is to make support more coordinated around a person’s needs rather than requiring people to navigate disconnected services on their own.
More affordable and social homes
The recommendation links housing exclusion to the shortage of social and affordable homes. It proposes steps to increase supply through public and private investment in new and renovated housing, better use of existing homes, and support for alternative and non-profit housing models. Those proposals form the longer-term side of a package that also addresses immediate risks and emergency needs.
Housing exclusion is broader than homelessness alone. It can include people living in inadequate conditions, such as homes without basic facilities, as well as people in insecure situations, including those facing eviction or domestic abuse. The distinction matters because a person may have a roof overhead and still lack safe or adequate housing.
Member states are encouraged to report to the European Commission every five years on how effective their strategies are. The Commission is to review progress at national level and report back to the Council five years after adoption. The recommendation therefore sets out a continuing cycle of national strategy and review, rather than a single short-term intervention.
The Council placed the measure within the European Union’s wider work on the housing crisis and its anti-poverty efforts. Its practical effect will depend on how national and regional authorities translate the framework into their own policies, services and housing supply measures.
