[Publication] Housing for students and young people in training in the EU

Housing has become a major policy challenge in the European Union (EU), reflected in the Commission’s European Affordable Housing Plan (EAHP) presented in December 2025 and the European Parliament resolution on the housing crisis adopted in March 2026. Within this policy context, students and young people in education or training are explicitly recognised as groups that are particularly exposed to housing stress. This study discusses the housing situation of students in the EU, assesses the student housing actions in the EAHP, and develops policy-relevant recommendations to strengthen access to decent, sustainable, and affordable housing for students.
First, the study identified significant data limitations. The vast majority of available data and academic literature focuses on the housing situation of students in higher education. A comparable EU-wide overview of the housing circumstances of students in vocational education is lacking. This represents a major gap and urgent priority for future data collection efforts. For students in higher education, data availability and research coverage are somewhat better. However, the evidence base relies largely on survey data, notably from EUROSTUDENT, which does not include all EU Member States (MSs), thereby limiting the completeness and comparability of the findings.
Despite substantial differences among the MSs, the study finds that tertiary education students across the EU (from now on indicated as students) are widely affected by the housing crisis. Overall, students face high housing costs, limited access to suitable accommodation and growing insecurity. On average, 28% of EU students living independently spend more than 40% of their monthly budget on housing, a much higher share than that observed in the general population. All the while, structural shortages of student accommodation in the EU – estimated at around three million beds – with particularly severe deficits in major university cities, add to the severity of the issue.
The housing constraints relating to unaffordability and unavailability affect students and regions in multiple ways. Many students remain in the parental home longer than desired, often resulting in long commuting times, reduced independence and constrained study choices. Housing problems can also negatively affect students’ well-being, educational outcomes and mobility options. Beyond individual impact, inadequate student housing can also undermine local and regional competitiveness. The issues relating to housing persist even after students complete their studies. As part of the so-called “Generation Rent”, they encounter declining access to homeownership and increasing reliance on the rental sector which further impact their life chances.
The EAHP explicitly recognises students and young people as vulnerable groups and proposes targeted actions. These actions include: increased investment in student accommodation, measures to facilitate access to the private rental market, support for innovative housing solutions, and targeted initiatives for disadvantaged and mobile students, as part of the Erasmus+ programme. Building on these proposals, the study provides a brief literature review addressing several issues relevant to student housing, in particular Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and its rental contracts, the tension between financialisation and affordability, housing opportunities for students within the existing housing stock, students’ access to the private rental market, and promising technical and social innovations that can expand the housing opportunities for students. The analysis is illustrated with examples from various MSs across the EU.
The study concludes with a concrete action agenda for policymakers at both the EU and MS levels, informed by the analyses in the prior chapters. This action agenda sets out a coherent policy framework to address the student housing crisis across the EU through targeted and coordinated measures:

• strengthening data collection and research to close critical knowledge gaps and support more effective, evidence-based policymaking;
• recognising students and young people in training as a distinct priority group within comprehensive housing policy strategies, ensuring that their specific needs are systematically addressed at both EU and national levels;
• expanding the supply of affordable and sustainable PBSA as a central priority, alongside the mobilisation of public and private investment (including from private households) and the integration of long-term affordability requirements into (EU) funding approaches;
• more efficient use of the existing housing stock through measures such as house sharing, intergenerational living, and the activation of vacant dwellings;
• improving access to the private rental market by addressing risk-averse behaviour of landlords and ensuring balanced regulation of short-term rentals (STRs);
• fostering technical and social innovation through, for instance, flexible and modular housing solutions and ensuring that students are actively involved in shaping and testing new housing models.

The effective mobilisation and strategic use of EU funds and initiatives, such as the Pan-European Investment Platform, Horizon Europe, the Cohesion Funds, and the European Housing Alliance, are essential to put this action agenda into practice. Altogether, these actions form an integrated strategy to improve access to adequate, affordable, and sustainable housing for students and young people in training across the EU. Ultimately, this would help improve social inclusion and equal access to education and training across the EU and thereby contribute to strengthening the EU’s long-term competitiveness and cohesion.