DEVE

Should I stay or should I go: The Netherlands and Utrecht specifically attract multiple local and international students every year because of their universities and facilities. However, with the increase in demand for housing, the price of rents is rising and the supply of houses is decreasing. Bearing in mind that students are vital for…

Motion for a Resolution by the Committee on Development (DEVE)

Should I stay or should I go: The Netherlands and Utrecht specifically attract multiple local and international students every year because of their universities and facilities. However, with the increase in demand for housing, the price of rents is rising and the supply of houses is decreasing. Bearing in mind that students are vital for the economic growth of the city, its identity and more, what steps could the EU take to tackle the housing crisis and assist students in having their right to housing met? 

Submitted by: Simon Broady (NL), Kamil Canpolat (PL), Alisar Daba (NL), Boris Ganzevoort (NL), Filip Gmurkowski (PL), Sanne Hazes (NL), Emma Popov (NL), Milo Sanders (NL), Misha Zwietink (NL), and Aleksandra Emamzade (Chairperson, BG)

The European Youth Parliament aims to stabilise and regulate the housing market by increasing the availability of adequate housing for everyone, with an emphasis on students, by renovating deserted properties and investing in more student housing. With these measures, it strives to ensure affordability regarding housing for all students across the EU, thereby preventing them from compromising their education and future stability to afford the necessity of decent accommodation, which is considered an international human right. 

The above is decided upon because

  • Institutions and influential companies are gaining a significant share of the housing market, setting increased housing prices and artificially inflating them,
  • There is a decrease in the availability of long-term housing due to multiple options for short-term renting, such as Airbnb,
  • There is an increase of speculators1 taking advantage of rising house prices as a safe investment leading to destabilising the housing market, 
  • There is an abundance of abandoned and run-down properties that are not being used, renovated or repurposed, 
  • Real estate is becoming increasingly unaffordable which contributes to students’ monetary difficulties and their ability to complete their education,
  • Strict zoning2 and development laws prohibit constructors from being able to supply sufficient amounts of housing,
  • Discrimination against ethnic minorities, refugees, international students, disabled people, and religious minorities in the housing market persist,
  • Due to the desperation of consumers and the sky-high demand to acquire housing, landlords are disincentivised from offering higher-quality housing.

To that end, the European Youth Parliament

  1. Urges the Development Cooperation of the Government of the Netherlands to enforce a maximum limit on the number of properties owned by a private enterprise in a neighbourhood, except social housing; 
  2. Invites local governments to research more in-depth the short-term rental sector; 
  3. Calls upon the Directorate-General on Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) to adequately tighten the laws for short-term rental in areas with low housing availability through limiting maximum renting period; 
  4. Recommends Member States to implement stricter capital gains tax for individual speculators and speculation firms;
  5. Further invites local governments to support construction companies to invest in building and renovating more abandoned and run-down properties;
  6. Instructs the European Investment Bank (EIB) to create a new branch focusing on financing the construction of low-rent housing of which 30% will be used to construct housing for students and 70% will be used on subsidies for rent prices;
  7. Further calls upon DG REGIO to develop their housing policies by reexamining zoning laws, and possibly reevaluating them; 
  8. Suggests Member States’ National Ministries for Housing to decrease discrimination against certain groups by establishing rules and quotas regarding housing; 
  9. Welcomes the Association of Housing Corporations of the Government of the Netherlands  (AEDES) to investigate discriminatory tenant-choosing practices amongst social housing corporations.

Lastly, the European Youth Parliament recommends participants to

  • Encourage students to register at student housing organisations such as DUWO;
  • Participate in social campaigns and adverts regarding housing; 
  • Encourage acquaintances with an available room to share it with students who are  struggling to find accommodation;
  • Stimulate individuals to file reports on abandoned or unused properties with the potential of becoming available to students.
  1. Speculators are individuals who invest in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of making a profit. ↩︎
  2. Zoning is the act of setting rules for the use of land and the types of structures that can be built on it. ↩︎