Track: Housing - Housing Regulation

Housing affordability is a growing challenge across European cities, with important implications for social inequality and urban sustainability. Budapest illustrates this wider European challenge, as affordability has deteriorated and the private rental sector has become increasingly expensive and often insecure. The touristic use of residential properties has contributed to touristification and further pressured scarce urban housing, prompting responses such as stricter short-term accommodation regulation. Alongside these measures, Budapest is expanding its housing-policy toolkit through initiatives ranging from the conversion of vacant properties to measures addressing energy poverty and homelessness. Drawing on this experience, this talk will explore the scope for local action within limited municipal competences and resources, while reflecting on how national policies and an emerging European housing agenda can better support housing affordability.

Rental markets are under growing pressure from rising rents, tourism-related uses, short-term rentals, and speculative dynamics, making it harder for many households to access and remain in affordable housing. As regulation becomes a central tool to respond to market distortion, the session will look at how cities and governments are working to restore balance between tenant rights, housing supply, and long-term urban liveability, while bringing together local, regional, and international perspectives on rent affordability.

Regulatory frameworks to protect affordability and availability, including rent control, shortterm rental regulation, and anti-speculation policies.

Housing affordability has become one of the defining political and economic challenges of our time, affecting cities across Europe and beyond. Addressing it requires moving beyond emergency responses towards more structural, coordinated, and rights-based housing policies. At the same time, moving from emergency responses to more structural action requires stronger public leadership, coordination, and a clearer understanding of housing as a social, urban, and political priority. Bringing together international, local, policy and civil society perspectives, the session will reflect on how cities can respond to housing pressure with more ambitious, long-term, and systemic strategies, examining how different governments are advancing policy innovation, institutional reform, and regulatory action.

Global trends in housing affordability, financialization, and supply shortages, and how cities and governments are responding through policy and innovation.

Delivering affordable housing at scale requires more than political commitment. It demands financing models that can mobilise public and private capital at sufficient volume, distribute risk appropriately, and keep homes affordable over time. As public budgets alone are often insufficient, the session will focus on how cities, development banks and investment institutions can combine funds, guarantees, and public-private partnerships to make projects viable, manage risk, and ensure that investment supports long-term affordability rather than short-term market dynamics.

Public-private partnerships, institutional investment, land value capture, and financing models to scale affordable housing.

Delivering affordable housing is only part of the challenge. Ensuring that it remains accessible, well-managed, and socially valuable over time requires strong governance, transparent allocation systems, maintenance capacity, and coordination between public administrations and housing operators. Bringing together local, metropolitan, and cooperative housing perspectives, the session will address how affordable housing can be managed as a public service, with attention to long-term stewardship, tenant needs, operational capacity, and social value.

Governance models, allocation systems, and long-term management tools to ensure affordable housing remains accessible, wellmaintained, and socially valuable over time.