11th Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2026
Older people facing housing exclusion: the invisible crisis
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Editorial
This eleventh edition of The Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe comes at a critical juncture. In just a few years, tackling homelessness has risen to prominence on the European policy agenda with a series of commitments having been made: an Affordable Housing Plan that explicitly identifies people experiencing homelessness as a priority group; a European Strategy to Combat Poverty that places homelessness among its priorities; and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on housing exclusion which, if adopted, would constitute the first European legislative act specifically devoted to addressing this issue.
However, the situation continues to deteriorate. Our latest estimate puts the number of people sleeping rough, staying in emergency accommodation and using dedicated homelessness services across Europe at 1.4 million. Recent national data confirm a widespread increase; viewed over the longer term, the trend leaves little room for doubt – homelessness is on the rise almost everywhere, in some cases dramatically. Beyond the official figures, the situation is stark: emergency services are at capacity, waiting lists are growing rapidly, people are being moved from one form of accommodation to another without any prospect of a lasting solution, and stays are becoming increasingly prolonged because there is nowhere for people to move on to. Yet as pressure on the system mounts, another response is taking hold: increasingly restrictive eligibility criteria and a growing tendency to ration access to services – a deeply regressive approach, with potentially devastating consequences. Once again, this report sounds the alarm.
This year, we have chosen to focus on a crisis that remains largely hidden from view: housing exclusion among older people. Europe’s population is ageing – a well-established trend – yet far less attention has been paid to the housing difficulties that can accompany later life. Older people are often assumed to be relatively secure: long-standing homeowners with accumulated assets and settled housing situations. While this is true for many, this picture obscures another reality – a growing proportion of people are reaching later life in insecure or inadequate housing and, sometimes, without a home at all.
These are people living in housing that has fallen into disrepair and that they can no longer maintain, facing the threat of eviction without rehousing, or exposed to energy poverty in winter as well as in summer. At least 170,000 older people are currently experiencing homelessness across Europe. This is a floor, not a ceiling: the extent of undercounting means that the true figure is undoubtedly higher – and their numbers are rising. But the numbers tell only part of the story. The crisis is also defined by the extreme vulnerability of those affected, and by trends that should concern us all. For an older person, housing is more than a roof. It is one of the fundamental conditions for health. It is where we rest, recover, and preserve our autonomy, privacy and dignity. Everyone should be able to grow old and live out their final years in dignity and with choice.
The challenge today is no longer to secure recognition of homelessness and housing exclusion as a political priority: that battle has been won for the most part. Five years after the Lisbon Declaration, the task is to turn this recognition into coherent, ambitious and measurable action. The European Union has an unprecedented window of opportunity to do so, shaped by the Affordable Housing Plan and the European Strategy to Combat Poverty. But these initiatives must be backed by adequate resources – the next multiannual financial framework must match this level of ambition if we are to reverse the current trends. Housing is a matter of dignity; it is time to make this a reality for people of all generations.
Freek Spinnewijn
Director, FEANTSA
Christophe Robert
Managing Director, Fondation pour le Logement
