Activities of Kim VAN SPARRENTAK related to 2019/2187(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Decent and affordable housing for all (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on access to decent and affordable housing for all
Amendments (38)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 33 a (new)
Citation 33 a (new)
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas homelessness is a profound assault on dignity, belonging, and life itself and fundamentally irreconcilable with the EU’s objectives of social progress and its social model;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas there is a shortage of social, affordable and accessible housing; whereas housing affordability has to be seen in its overall relation to income patterns and developments, distributional justice and excessive rises in housing costs and has a clear gender dimension;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas a steep and continuous increase in house prices and market rents spurred on by gentrification, touristification and financialisation of the housing markets can be noted, in particular in cities and (sub)-urban areas;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. Whereas the restitution of pre WWII property in some EU countries turned the tenants of these houses in a highly vulnerable category, living under permanent threat of eviction ;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas energy poverty is a persistent scourge, affecting more than 50 million of people in the EU21a and whereas COVID 19 is deepening the crisis with confinement leading to soaring energy consumptions and bills but also with a large number of workers who have lost their jobs or part of their income as a consequence ; whereas lower-income households also pay more for energy; __________________ 21aCommission communication of 11 December 2019 on The European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640), p. 9.
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the renovation wave must play an important role in achieving energy saving, reducing costs and energy consumption and therefore helping alleviate energy poverty and improve comfort, sanitary and living conditions for all;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas the access to decent and affordable housing is harder for women, the youth and people in more vulnerable situations such as young unemployed couples, single parents, large families, the elderly, LGBTI persons, migrants, refugees, persons with disabilities, people with physical or psychiatric illnesses, people from marginalised communities including Roma ;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the Commission has announced an upcoming LGBTI Equality Strategy to be adopted by Q4 2020;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas the European Commission study on legal gender recognition in the EU highlights discrimination against trans and gender non-conforming persons in access to the housing market, including losing homes due to the divorce requirement of some gender recognition processes in the EU, and that access to legal gender recognition increases trans person’s likelihood of finding housing in cases where their documents match their gender expression;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G d (new)
Recital G d (new)
Gd. whereas the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recommended to Member States in CM/Rec(2010)5 that measures should be taken to ensure that access to adequate housing can be effectively and equally enjoyed by all persons, without discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity; whereas it recommended additionally that appropriate attention should be paid to the risks of homelessness experienced by LGBTI persons, including young persons and children who may be particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, including from their own families;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure access for all to decent housing, including clean and high- quality drinking water and, adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene,, hygiene and indoor environmental quality and to affordable, reliable and, sustainable energy, for all hence contributing to eradicatinge poverty in all its forms, supporting the most vulnerable groups, especially young children, the elderly and permanently sick and persons with disabilities, the homeless and Roma so as to protect their health and well- being; reaffirms its call for EU-a wide EU action for a winter heating disconnection moratorium; calls on theencourages Member States to meet the standards laid down by theensure a minimum water supply and to protect the human rights of disadvantaged households; calls on the Member States to meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards for adequate housing temperature; demands that the revision of the air quality regulation to be aligned with WHO standards; calls for the introduction at EU level of minimum mandatory requirements to be introduced for indoor air quality, at the minimum aligned with WHO guidelines;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to prioritise emissions reductions through housing renovation in the social housing sector and for worst performing buildings in the Renovation Wave, while, including owner-occupied multi- apartment buildings and single family homes, in the Renovation Wave, while ensuring an adequate indoor environmental quality and tackling inadequate housing and housing accessibility and eliminating energy poverty in order to ensure a socially just transition to a climate-neutral economy that leaves no one behind; underlines the role that minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) play in stimulating the volume and depth of renovation for worst- performing buildings; stresses, therefore, that tenants and owner-occupiers should be fully informed and involved in renovation projects and should not see overall costs increase because of them;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to prioritise the Renovation Wave within the Mmultiannual Ffinancial Fframework and Next Generation EU, placutting people in vulnerable situations at the centre of the recovery policies, and to ensure equal access to renovation projects forto all; calls on the Member States to prioritise renovation in their recovery and resilience plans in order to contribute to achieving deep renovation of 3 % of the European building stock per year; Calls on the Commission to prioritise the Renovation Wave within the Multiannual Financial Framework and Next Generation EU, placing people in vulnerable situations at the centre of the recovery policies, and to ensure equal access to renovation projects for al, as investment in this field can act as a countercyclical intervention with an important job-creation potential; calls on the Member States to prioritise renovation in their recovery and resilience plans in order to contribute to achieving deep renovation of at least 3% of the European building stock per year;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the EU and Member States to apply circular principles at building and product level with mandatory green criteria when considering options for renovation to favour construction products from low- carbon, sustainable and non-toxic materials that are also easy to repair and reuse and foster the fast transition to renewable sources of energy for heating and cooling;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that public procurement rules allow for innovation and long-term partnerships, such as district approaches, for renovation in the social housing sector;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for an EU- level goal tof ending homelessness by 2030; calls on the Commission to take stronger action to support Member States in reducing and eradicating homelessness as a priority in the context of the action plan on the EPSR; calls on the Commission to propose an EU fFramework for nNational hHomelessness sStrategies; calls on the and Member States to prioritise the provision of permanent housing to homeless people; stresses the importance of reliable data collection on homelessness also by preparing their National Homelessness Strategies listing proactive and reactive measures on the basis of systemic consultation with NGOs working in the field of homelessness, poverty and discrimination; stresses the importance of reliable data collection on homelessness with the involvement of the relevant NGOs and authorities active in service provision for persons at risk or experiencing homelessness; calls on the Commission to develop coherent EU indicators and monitoring;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission to specifically address LGBTI homelessness in its upcoming LGBTI Equality Strategy, particularly regarding youth, to create tools for enhanced data collection, to foster research across the EU and to facilitate the exchange of approaches to tackle the problem of LGBTI people experiencing homelessness between member states;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its call forof 16 January 2014 to put an end to the criminalisation of homeless people and to change the discriminatory practices used to prevent homeless people from accessing social services and shelter; calls on Commission to play its role in swiftly challenging such measures and strongly oppose any hostile measures against the poor and the marginalised;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on thefor Member States to ensure that exceptional measures to prevent homelessness and protect homeless people in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, notably through moratoria on evictions and disconnection from energy supply and the provision of temporary housing, are maintained as long as needed and are followed up with adequate and, permanent solutions;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Emphasises that women’s homelessness is often less visible and needs to be specifically addressed; calls on the Commission and Member States to develop a gendered approach in their homelessness strategies in order to support women experiencing homelessness, who have often suffered from complex trauma and face re- traumatisation, such as domestic violence and abuse, separation from their children, stigmatisation and lack of safe and secure spaces;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for a comprehensive and integrated anti-poverty strategy with a designated poverty reduction target, including for child poverty; calls for a binding European framework directive for minimum income schemes; stresses that minimum income schemes could prevent and lift households out of severe material deprivation and allow for an income above the poverty threshold;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States to ensure equal access to housing for all, fight against racism and anti-gypsyism and safeguard non-discrimination on all grounds stipulated in Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the implementation of the Charter as well as of the Racial Equality Directive as well as the EU framework for the implementation of National Roma Integrations Strategies and the UNCRPD; demands that they pay particular attention to intersectional discrimination; calls on the Council to swiftly adopt the horizontal anti-discrimination directive; calls on the Commission to effectively evaluate the political commitment of Member states and launch infringement procedures against Member Statesthose which do not enforce EU anti- discrimination legislation or which criminalise the homeless;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes with deep concern that the living conditions of Romani people continue to be extremely worrying; calls on the Member States to promote spatial desegregation and engage Roma beneficiaries in housing projects, with many often living in segregated settlements characterised by substandard living conditions ;Calls on the Member States to promote spatial desegregation and engage Roma beneficiaries in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation all stages of housing projects, to effectively ensure they are provided with the information to benefit from the existing funds as well as the antidiscrimination policies and mechanisms to prevent forced evictions, and to provide sufficient and appropriate halting sites for non-sedentary Roma; emphasises the urgent need for public investments in this regard also due to the dangers of the COVID-19 epidemic, and urges the Commission and the Member States to utilize the planned Just Transition Fund for improving the housing-, health- and employment-related situation of the Roma;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes with deep concern that persons with disabilities often face several complex challenges and rights deprivation in the field of housing, such as their lack of a right to live in the community with equal opportunities, the lack of availability of community-based services which are necessary to safeguard the transition from institutional care to living in the community, the fact that they are often forced to live in segregated residential institutions, poverty, their lack of access to housing programmes, the existing barriers to accessibility, etc.; calls for a rapid deinstitutionalisation all across Europe and the use of available EU and national funds to create accessible, non-segregated housing and to provide the necessary community-based services for persons with disabilities for the sake of safeguarding their right to live independently in the community and to have equal chances to participate in the society;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that no EU or Member State funds will be used for housing projects leading to segregation or social exclusion;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to impose a general obligation of meeting accessibility criteria in the in the framework of the planned Renovation Wave of public and private buildings foreseen by the European Green Deal communication and to use its potential to tackle accessibility for persons with disabilities and older persons in order to make housing “future proof” in the light of the increasing demographic change;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that EU policies, funding programmes and financing instruments have a great impact on housing markets and citizens’ lives; calls on the Commission to develop an integrated strategy for social, public, non-segregated and affordable housing at EU level creating an enabling framework for national, regional and local authorities to ensure the provision of safe, healthy, accessible and affordable quality housing for all;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the Commission to provide more accurate data on housing markets, including at subnational level, through Eurostat (European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC)) and the European Energy Poverty Observatory taking into account the fragmentation of national housing markets and differences between Member States; calls upon the Commission to set-up a multi-level governance monitoring system on affordable housing at EU level in the context of the Energy Poverty Observatory; stresses the need to develop a comprehensive definition of housing affordability at EU level taking into account a broad range of indicators such as eviction and poverty rates;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls upon the Council and Member States to reintroduce the Informal Meetings of Housing Ministers, to involve the Parliament as well as to open it to stakeholders and to present a revised format of the Housing Focal Points;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States and regional and local authorities to put in place legal provisions to protect tenants and owner-occupiers from eviction and to ensure security of tenure by favouring long-term rental contracts as the default option, together with rent transparency and rent control meas, including clear rental regulations, to protect the rights of tenants and owner-occupiers and prevent evictions, also after renovation measures and including those living in a dwelling alienated from the state during restitution process and to ensure security of tenure by favouring long-term rental contracts as the default option, together with rent transparency and rent control measures provide support for organisations working on the protection of tenants and owner- occupiers and to set up low-threshold legal dispute settlement procedures;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes with concern the increased financialisation of the housing market, in particular in cities, whereby investors treat housing as a tradable asset rather than a human right, from buy-to-let, to institutional investment by means of real estate shares and foreign capital and buy- to-leave schemes; calls on the Commission to assess the contribution of EU policies and regulations to financialisation of the housing market and the ability of national and local authorities to ensure the right to housing and, where appropriate, to put forward legislative proposals to counter financialisation of the housing market by mid-2021; calls on the Member States and local authorities to put in place taxation measures to counter speculative investment, and to develop urban and rural planning policies that favour affordable housing, social mix and social cohesion; calls on Member States and local authorities to support providers of social, cooperative and public housing as a way to promote non-speculative housing;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Stresses that transparency on real estate ownership and transactions is vital to prevent distortions in the housing market and to prevent money laundering and tax evasion in this sector; Reiterates the obligation in the anti-money laundering Directive for the Commission to report by 31 December 2020 on the need to harmonise information on real estate ownership and on the inter- connection of these national registers;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to better protect mortgage borrowers against evictions; calls on the European Commission and the Member States to strengthen existing or, as the case may be, adopt new binding conduct rules for creditors, credit servicers and credit purchasers to avoid misleading practices, harassment and violation of consumer’s rights, at least as far as mortgage loans are concerned; such rules should particularly specify requirements for reasonable and viable forbearance measures in addition to those provided for in Article 28of Directive 2014/17/EU; invites the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal on a minimum loan to value ratio in the market for mortgage credit; calls on the Commission to consider the impact on housing markets when proposing rules on securitisation;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Points out that the expansive growth of short-term holiday rental is extracting housing from the market and driving up prices, and has a negative impact on liveability; calls on the Commission to set up a regulatory framework for short-term accommodation rental that gives wide discretion to national and local authorities to define proportionate rules for hospitality services, including mandatory registration, limitation of permits and specific zoning policies; urges the Commission to include in the Digital Services Act a proposal for mandatory information-sharing obligations for platforms in the short-term accommodation rental market, in line with data protection rules, as this access to information is essential for authorities in order to ensure the availability of affordable housing;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that the investment gap for affordable housing amounts to €57 billion per year 22a; Calls on the Commission and the Member States to close the investment gap for affordable housing as a matter of priority; calls in this regard for a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact allowing for increased fiscal space for sustainable public investments, in particular in social and affordable housing; calls, furthermore, for a harmonised accounting for amortisation methodology for affordable housing investments; __________________ 22aReport of the High-Level Task Force on Investing in Social Infrastructure in Europe: “Boosting Investment in Social Infrastructure in Europe”(2018).
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes the financing of social and affordable housing loans through InvestEU and in the broader EIB portfolio; Urgently calls upon the Commission to ensure that EU funding and EIB financing become better accessible for local and regional, social and public affordable housing providers; calls on the EIB to try to strengthen the relevant landing via targeted technical assistance and closer cooperation with financial intermediaries;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to further increase investment in the EU in affordable andadequate, energy- efficient affordable and social housing and in tackling homelessness and housing exclusion, through the European Regional Development Fund, the Just Transition Fund, InvestEU, ESF+, Horizon Europe and Next Generation EU, especially in regard to the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the national Recovery and Resilience Plans and to ensure greater synergies between those instruments;