In response to the European Commission’s plan for more affordable housing, GCP Europe calls for a people-first approach—making homes not only more affordable, but more sustainable, energy-efficient, and healthy.
As the European Union prepares its European Affordable Housing Plan, GCP Europe has submitted a detailed contribution advocating for a balanced, future-proof housing strategy. Our position: affordable housing must also be energy-efficient, climate-resilient, and supportive of occupant well-being.
With construction and renovation costs rising, policymakers must avoid short-term cost-cutting that results in poor indoor comfort, excessive energy bills, or lock-ins to outdated technologies. That’s why our sector—representing Europe’s HVAC installers, building engineers and plumbers—plays a central role in delivering solutions that are affordable over the long term, sustainable, and worker-friendly.
Our key recommendations include:
- Recognising that true affordability includes low energy bills and durable infrastructure;
- Ensuring the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of homes, especially for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly;
- Prioritising clean and efficient heating systems (such as heat pumps) over fossil-fuel lock-ins;
- Strengthening skills development to ensure enough trained professionals to meet demand;
- Leveraging EU financial instruments to support quality construction and renovation.
Our contribution stresses the importance of including MEP (Minimum Energy Performance) requirements, lifecycle cost assessments, and systematic indoor climate controls in all affordable housing policies.
What happens next?
The Commission has launched a new consultation (July 2025) to refine the plan. GCP Europe will respond again, reiterating the voice of our members and workers across Europe.
Read the full GCP Europe position paper (PDF)
Contribute to the EU consultation here (before 17 October 2025 midnight Brussels time)
Read GCP Europe "Policy sheet" on that topic (Restricted to GCP Europe members)
Want to join our work on this file? Contact us