Still living in the parents’ house? Confronted daily with precarious working conditions with low paid jobs, short-term contracts or even unpaid internships? Feeling stressed and uncertain about the future? Having the impression that the political debate does not reflect your needs?

If this sounds familiar, it is because indeed this is a widespread reality for young people all over Europe. The challenge of independent living has become a defining characteristic of this generation, a phenomenon with diverse consequences ranging from income to care and mental health, related to access to affordable housing, linked to rights and gender equality and triggering a feeling of political under-representation, of being left out.

Independent living starts… at home. However, access to affordable housing has become significantly harder for Europe’s youth over the last decade. There has been a steady increase of rents in the EU between 2010 and 2021 – in total 16% during the whole period. There was an increase in 25 Member States and a decrease in just two according to Eurostat. This is one of the main reasons that explains the fact that people aged 18-34 tend to leave the parental home at an older age compared to the recent past. On average, young people in the EU left the parental household at the age of 26.2 years in 2019. Cultural reasons aside, how can Europe’s housing markets provide decent, affordable solutions tailored to the needs of the younger generation? What are the national policies and local initiatives that work and what are the models that are not fit for purpose anymore? Which factors have had a negative impact on the housing affordability of the urban centres? What can the EU do?