The European Parliament's Special Committee on the Housing Crisis held a public hearing on 24 June 2026, where a split emerged between industry and tenant representatives over how to finance renovation to tackle housing affordability and energy poverty. Industry speakers favoured private loans, while tenant and social-housing representatives pushed for public grants and non-profit models.
Chair Irene Tinagli (S&D) framed the debate around structural drivers of energy poverty and the role of renovation. Matthew Baldwin from the European Commission's DG ENER reported that oil prices have fallen to around $77 per barrel and gas to about €42 per MWh after the US-Iran deal, but warned that supply risks persist and energy costs still weigh on households and construction.
Sarah Gonzalez-Moreno of the University of Burgos argued that affordability must include energy costs, citing passive-house standards and industrialised construction to speed up building. Remi Collombet of Efficient Buildings Europe stressed that inefficient homes are liabilities, called for stable national renovation programmes, and proposed an EU renovation loan. Michael Gehbauer of GBV, Austria, presented the limited-profit housing model, where cost-based rents and pooled renovation funds keep homes affordable while decarbonising; he urged treating affordable housing as infrastructure. Barbara Steenbergen of the International Union of Tenants highlighted that 150 million Europeans rent, 34 million face energy poverty, and split incentives between landlords and tenants block renovation; she called for legal safeguards to protect tenants.
industry representatives, including Collombet, favoured private loans, while tenant and social-housing representatives such as Steenbergen and Gehbauer pushed for public grants and non-profit models. The committee will feed expert input into its report, with next steps including drafting recommendations.
Low- and middle-income households and tenants stand to benefit from public grants and non-profit models, which could lower renovation costs and protect renters, but may face slower implementation if funding is limited. Social housing providers would gain from stable public programmes but could be constrained by national budgets. Construction and renovation industries would see increased demand under either model, but private loans may accelerate activity while public grants could be more predictable. National governments face trade-offs between fiscal spending on grants and leveraging private capital.