Soaring rents show Jørgensen must tackle speculation

The scale of the action required by Europe's new housing commissioner designate is laid bare today by new Eurostat data showing rent and house prices continue to soar.

Rent has increased by 3% over the last year, while house prices went up by 2.9% and have more than doubled in nine EU member states since 2010.

Over the same period, rents increased in all but one member state, with the highest rises registered in Estonia (+203%), Lithuania (+178%), Ireland (+106%) and Hungary (+104%).

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is calling on the Commission, and in particular Dan Jørgensen, the EU's first designate commissioner for housing, to tackle property speculation by big financial players as part of his Affordable Housing Plan.

Responding to today's figures, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:

"Today's figures are further proof that homes in Europe are increasingly being treated as a way to make a quick profit rather than a place to live.

"The appointment of Europe's first commissioner dedicated to housing could not come soon enough. Working people now expect him to take action which matches the scale of Europe's housing crisis.

"That means once again treating adequate housing as a basic human right by building more social homes and properly regulating the rental market to end unethical speculation.

"Raising the number of workers covered by collective bargaining is the best way to ensure that workers' wages meet housing costs."