Tens of millions of people in Europe are experiencing housing exclusion. Who they are, how they end up in that condition? What does the European legislation have to say about the right of inclusion?
These are the issues addressed in the Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe, a report released by the Foundation Abbè Pierre and Feantsa (the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless), that reveals a rise in the number of homeless people in the majority of the countries, the impact of the crisis home ownership, the particular difficulties experienced by central and southern European countries and the differences in how countries manage evictions and more.
The report presentation in Brussels
Some key figures
Up to 410,000 people are sleeping rough or in emergency or temporary accommodation on any given night.
41 million people every year face homeless for periods of varying length.
Majority (75 to 85% ) of homeless people in most countries are male. The proportion of women is relatively high in France (38%) and in Sweden (36%).
Homeless people are mostly young and middle-aged.
203,171,211 number of households in the European Union.
35,148, 621 overcrowded hosing.
21,942,491 difficulty maintain adequate household temperature.
24,177,375 difficulty accessing public transport.
11,174,417 at risks of having to move house in the next six months due to housing costs.
Unfortunately today homeless people are stigmatized as criminals
Some key facts
Housing is not simply a reflection of social inequity but an accelerator of inequality and an indicator of institution’s slow adaptation to changing social needs.
In central and western Europe, the inequality between poor and non-poor people with regard to housing costs has decreased slightly over the last few years. In other countries, the opposite is true. Inequalities in housing costs are increasing in the context of increasingly tough markets.
Poor households spend a relatively high proportion of their budgets on housing in several countries that have a strong tradition if social policies.
Greece holds the record with almost all poor households spending more then 40% of their income on housing (93%).
Poor households are more exposed to price fluctuations than other households in then European countries.
Overcrowding is particularly pronounced in central Europe
The entire report is available here.
Photo:Getty images/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
