70m living in sub-standard homes, claim campaigners

Date: 04/12/03

HOUSING must be given higher priority or homelessness will continue to rise throughout Europe, say campaigners.

The Brussels-based European Liaison Committee for Social Housing (Cecodhas) claims the issue is too often put on the political back-burner, resulting in "inadequate" policies. The result is 3 million homeless and 70 million EU citizens living in sub-standard homes, it says.

The organization, which represents 6,000 non-profit housing associations providing 35 million houses for sale or rent, says the task of providing decent, affordable housing is just as important to reviving Europe's economy as achieving the Lisbon targets.

Cecodhas also questions the EU's ability to meet the housing needs for the thousands expected to flood into member states after enlargement next May.

Cecodhas Secretary-General Claire Roumet said: "Because housing does not legally lie within European Union competence, there is a grey area in EU legislation when it comes to housing. This...means that very little funding is available but that legislation, in particular state aid and competition laws, do not take into account the specificities of our sector."

In Europe, the trend is for states to reduce their involvement in housing by selling off stock. Ireland, for example, has sold two-thirds of local authority housing stock while France has cut the social housing budget by 8%.

The European Liaison Committee for Social Housing (CECODHAS) claims that housing in Europe should be given a higher priority.

http://www.cecodhas.org/ http://www.cecodhas.org/

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