EU Member States must act to stop evictions and prevent homelessness

Read the full statement (PDF) here

To all member states participating in the High-level Meeting on Homelessness of 21 June

The undersigned organisations request EU Member States to act immediately and effectively to avoid a high peak of evictions in Europe. An ambitious policy to prevent rental evictions is now more necessary than ever. Preventing homelessness arising from evictions must be part of the commitment to end homelessness by 2030.

Across Europe, governments have put in place emergency responses to housing-related challenges that have arisen as a result of the health crisis, such as the moratoria on evictions. Several European organizations including FEANTSA[1], Housing Europe[2], IUT[3] and Abbé Pierre Foundation have repeatedly warned of the risk of an exponential increase in homelessness, as these measures slowly come to an end. Yet, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to endanger the situation of vulnerable groups. It is vital to guarantee that people do not become homeless after the lifting of the moratoria on evictions.[4]

Research in Ireland showed that the largest single cause of family homelessness was landlords evicting tenants due to legal grounds for terminating a lease in Ireland. [5] This practice was prohibited under the lockdown, and the number of newly homeless families fell considerably, but now that it is legal again, numbers may increase.

At this stage, the extension of the ban on evictions is not enough. Additional measures preventing rising numbers of homelessness are needed, including debt relief for vulnerable families, who may otherwise be losing their homes. If evictions do take place for any reason, governments must ensure that alternative accommodation exists to rapidly rehouse those who are evicted, as well as ensuring long term housing solutions.

For more information please contact Anna Kompatscher. 

[1] Statement: End of evictions ban will cause surge in homeless numbers: https://www.feantsa.org/en/news/2020/09/11/end-of-evictions-ban-will-cause-surge-in-homelessness?bcParent=27

[2] Housing Europe (2021) The State of Housing in Europe 2021, www.stateofhousing.eu/

[3] Don’t make the covid-19 pandemic crisis a homelessness crisis! IUT (2021) https://www.iut.nu/news/covid-19/corona-statement-from-iut/

[4] In Ireland: Evictions from rental properties to resume amid homelessness fears ; In France: A new instruction asks prefects not to evict anyone without rehousing or accommodation, as part of a communication last week on the resumption of evictions on 1 June, at the end of the state of emergency; In Spain: Government extends anti-eviction measures for three months

[5] European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 1_ 2020 , https://bit.ly/2R1fipd