Data extracted: December 2024.
Planned article update: 24 November 2025.
Highlights
In 2023, 16% of people in the EU lived in overcrowded households. The highest rates were in Latvia (40.9%), Romania (40.0%), and Bulgaria (34.9%), while the lowest were in Cyprus (2.2%), Malta (2.4%), and the Netherlands (3.8%).
In 2023, 10.6% of people in the EU could not afford to keep their homes adequately warm, up from 9.3% in 2022 (+1.3 pp). Portugal, Spain (20.8%), and Bulgaria (20.7%) had the highest rates, while Luxembourg (2.1%), Finland (2.6%), and Slovenia (3.6%) had the lowest.
In 2023, 8.8% of the EU population spent 40% or more of their household disposable income on housing. The highest rates were in Greece (28.5%), Denmark (15.4%) and Germany (13.0%), the lowest in Cyprus (2.6%), Slovenia (3.7%) and Croatia (4.0%).
In 2023, 91.2% of people not at risk of poverty were satisfied with their homes, compared with 83.7% of at-risk-of-poverty people.
This article explores the housing landscape within the European Union (EU) in 2023, focusing on various aspects of households' living conditions. The analysis covers the distribution of the population based on tenure status, overcrowding rate, the ability to keep the home adequately warm, the prevalence of housing cost overburden and satisfaction with dwellings. All figures are based on EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) available from Eurostat's online database. EU-SILC data are available for all EU countries, as well as for most of the EFTA and candidate countries.
Housing conditions
In the EU, nearly 7 out of 10 persons owned the dwelling they lived in
In 2023, 69.2% of people in the EU lived in owner-occupied dwellings, while 30.8% resided in rented accommodation (see Figure 1). 44.2% owned their dwellings outright, free from a mortgage or housing loan, whereas 24.9% were owners with a mortgage or loan. Concerning tenants, 20.6% of people in the EU paid market rent, and 10.2% lived in dwellings with rent at a reduced price or for free.
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho02)
Highest percentages of people living in overcrowded households were observed in Latvia and Romania, lowest in Cyprus and Malta
In 2023, 16.8% of people in the EU lived in overcrowded households. Map 1 shows that overcrowding rates above 30% were recorded in Latvia (40.9%), Romania (40.0%), Bulgaria (34.9%), Poland (33.9%), Croatia (31.3%), and Slovakia (30.5%). By contrast, the lowest rates - below 6.0% - were observed in Cyprus (2.2%), Malta (2.4%), the Netherlands (3.8%), Ireland (3.9%), and Belgium (5.7%).
Higher shares of people living in households unable to keep their home warm compared with 2022
In 2023, 10.6% of people in the EU lived in households unable to afford keeping their home adequately warm (see Figure 2). Among EU countries, the lowest rates were observed in Luxembourg (2.1%), Finland (2.6%), and Slovenia (3.6%). By contrast, the highest rates were recorded in Lithuania (20.0%), Bulgaria (20.7%), and Portugal and Spain, both at 20.8%.
Source: Eurostat (ilc_mdes01)
Compared with 2022, the percentage of people in the EU living in households unable to keep their homes adequately warm increased by 1.3 percentage points (pp), rising from 9.3% to 10.6% in 2023, as shown in Figure 2.
Among EU countries, 19 recorded an increase in the percentage of people unable to keep their homes adequately warm between 2022 and 2023. The highest increases were observed in Spain (+3.7 pp), Portugal (+3.3 pp), and Czechia (+3.2 pp). Conversely, 7 EU countries reported a decrease during the same period. The largest decreases were recorded in Romania (-2.7 pp), Cyprus (-2.3 pp), and Bulgaria (-1.8 pp) (see Figure 3). In Luxembourg, the situation remained stable, with the same percentage (2.1%) recorded in 2022 and 2023.
Source: Eurostat (ilc_mdes01)
Housing affordability
Housing cost overburden rate above 9.5% in 6 EU countries
In 2023, 8.8% of people in the EU lived in households spending 40% or more of their disposable income on housing. This percentage varied considerably across the EU countries (see Map 2). Greece recorded the highest housing cost overburden rate at 28.5%. Other countries with rates above 9.5% included Sweden (10.9%), Bulgaria (11.1%), Luxembourg (11.5%), Germany (13.0%) and Denmark (15.4%). By contrast, the lowest housing cost overburden rates—below 4%—were observed in Cyprus (2.6%) and Slovenia (3.7%).
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho07a)
Satisfaction with their dwelling in the EU is 7.5 pp higher among people not at risk of poverty compared with those at risk
In 2023, 83.7% of people in the EU at risk of poverty reported being satisfied or highly satisfied with their dwelling, as shown in Figure 4. The highest satisfaction rates among this group were observed in Malta (94.3%), Slovenia (92.7%) and Luxembourg (92.2%), while the lowest rates were reported in Hungary (67.4%), Austria (77.1%) and Slovakia (77.5%).
Among people not at risk of poverty, 91.2% reported being satisfied or highly satisfied with their dwelling. In most EU countries, satisfaction levels for this group exceeded 90%, except for Hungary (81.9%), Spain (84.2%), Denmark (85.4%) and Germany (86.8%). The highest satisfaction rates were recorded in Slovenia (96.5%), Estonia (95.8%) and Poland (95.7%).
Source: Eurostat (ilc_mdes01)
The difference in satisfaction levels between the 2 groups averaged 7.5 pp across the EU, as shown in Figure 5. The largest gaps were recorded in Slovakia (14.9 pp), Hungary (14.5 pp) and Austria (13.4 pp). Significant differences were also noted in Bulgaria (12.7 pp), France (11.2 pp), and Romania (10.2 pp). Conversely, smaller differences were observed in Czechia (2.9 pp), Ireland (3.3 pp), and Slovenia (3.8 pp). Notably, Malta (-0.4 pp) and Luxembourg (-1.6 pp) showed negative differences, indicating that people at risk of poverty in these countries were as satisfied, or more satisfied, with their dwellings than those not at risk.
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Source: Eurostat (ilc_mdes01)
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The data used in this article are derived from EU statistics on income and living conditions EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). EU-SILC is carried out annually and is the main survey that measures income and living conditions in Europe. It is also the main source of information used to link different aspects relating to the quality of life of households and individuals.
The reference population for the information presented in this article is all private households and their current members residing in the territory of an EU Member State at the time of data collection; persons living in in institutions are generally excluded from the target population. The data for the EU are population-weighted averages of national data.
The EU-SILC 2023 three yearly module Labour market and housing collects data on respondents' employment and housing conditions. The section on 'Housing' focuses on key aspects of this aspect, including satisfaction with the dwelling, specific housing deprivation items and imputed rent.
The overcrowding rate is determined by the percentage of the population residing in a dwelling with an insufficient number of rooms, based on household size, family composition, and the ages of its occupants.
The ability to keep the house adequately warm explicitly focuses on affordability - whether a household can financially afford to keep the home adequately warm - regardless of whether there is an actual need for heating due to climatic conditions.
The housing cost overburden rate measures housing affordability as the percentage of the population living in households where the total housing costs ('net' of housing allowances) represent more than 40% of disposable income ('net' of housing allowances). Housing costs refer to the monthly expenditures connected with a household's occupancy of their accommodation. These costs include utilities (water, electricity, gas, heating) based on actual usage. Only costs that are actually paid are considered, regardless of the payer. For owners, housing costs encompass mortgage interest payments (net of tax relief), structural insurance, mandatory services and charges (like sewage and refuse removal), regular maintenance and repairs, taxes, and utilities. Tenants (both at market and reduced prices) have similar housing costs, including rental payments, structural insurance (if paid by tenants), services and charges (if paid by tenants), taxes on dwelling (if applicable), regular maintenance and repairs, and utilities. Rent-free tenants incur housing costs potentially covering structural insurance, services and charges, dwelling taxes (if applicable), regular maintenance and repairs, and utilities. In all cases, housing benefits are not deducted from the total housing cost.
Finally, the satisfaction with their dwelling measures individuals' satisfaction with their dwelling classified into levels (e.g. very high, good, low, very low). It further analyses these levels in relation to the risk of poverty threshold, highlighting disparities between those who are at risk of poverty and those not. The indicator presented in this article focuses on people reporting "very high" or "good" level of satisfaction with their dwellings.
Context
According to the European Commission's Political Guidelines 2024-2029, affordable and sustainable housing is a key priority for the Commission 2024-2029. Such guidelines emphasise the need to address the housing crisis in Europe, where many citizens struggle to access decent and affordable housing. The Commission aims to promote policies that increase the supply of affordable housing, improve energy efficiency in buildings and support vulnerable populations such as low-income households and the homeless. Notably, a newly appointed Commissioner has been tasked with overseeing a dedicated 'Energy and Housing' portfolio, underscoring the Commission's commitment to tackle the interlinked challenges of energy and housing. By prioritising housing, the Commission seeks to improve the quality of life for European citizens, promote social cohesion and contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future for all.
Explore further
Other articles
Thematic section
Methodology
External links
Legislation
- Detailed list of legislative information on EU-SILC provisions for survey design, survey characteristics, data transmission and ad-hoc modules
- Regulation (EC) No 2019/1700 — the central piece of legislation for social surveys including EU-SILC
- Regulation (EC) No 2019/2242 — additional central piece of legislation for EU-SILC
- Summaries of EU Legislation: EU statistics on income and living conditions