The exercise, which runs until 30 September 2026, will feed into a Housing Simplification Package that Brussels intends to table in 2027 as part of its broader European Affordable Housing Plan.
The call for evidence is addressed to national, regional and local authorities, together with stakeholders from the construction, housing, finance and civil society sectors. Participants are being asked to pinpoint which parts of EU law create delay or unnecessary expense, and, crucially, to distinguish between problems rooted in the EU legislation itself and those arising from the way individual member states have transposed and implemented it. The formal call for evidence is published on the Commission's Have Your Say portal.
Officials say they want concrete proposals for streamlining procedures, examples of good practice that could be applied EU-wide, and evidence on how bureaucracy can be cut without weakening the housing plan's broader goals on sustainability and investment. The wider package under development also covers simplifying and digitalising permitting systems, setting clearer standards for newer construction methods and materials, and easing state-aid rules so that member states can support affordable housing projects more readily, according to the Commission's own housing policy pages.
Dan Jørgensen, the Commissioner for Energy and Housing, framed the exercise as central to Brussels's response to the affordability crisis. "To build better, more and faster, the building sector needs simpler rules," he said. "We can't combat the housing crisis without speeding up construction and renovation. We need to avoid unnecessary paperwork, costs and delays. With this simplification package, we will help deliver more affordable and sustainable homes across Europe without lowering our environmental and social protection standards." The remarks were carried in the commission's official announcement and echoed in Italian and Spanish coverage of the launch..
Respondents have until 30 September 2026 to submit evidence. Alongside the written consultation, the Commission is running workshops and meetings with member states and local authorities, drawing on the newly established European Housing Alliance. Further details on the process are available on the Commission's housing simplification pages.
