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In EU countries 68% of households live in their own homes

Strong gaps between countries: very high shares in the East, lower in the richest economies. In Italia, the number of empty houses is the highest (27.3%), while in Greece ownership is at an all-time low

by Davide Madeddu (Sole 24 Ore) and Lena Kyriakidi (Efsyn, Greece)

23 February 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In some cases it is a dream come true, in some others a problem because finding a house to rent or buy is not always easy. A fact that about one third of the families living in EU countries have to deal with. In 2024, according to Eurostat, more than two thirds, the percentage is, on average, 68 per cent owned their own home. This is slightly down from 69% in 2023. The remaining 32% lived in rented accommodation, compared to 31% in the previous year.

In the whole picture, the highest figure was recorded in Romania, where 94% of the population owned a house, followed by Slovakia with 93% and Hungary 92%. "Owning a house was most common in all EU countries except Germany, where - Eurostat points out - renting predominated with 53% of the population being tenants. Germany was followed by Austria with 46% and Denmark with 39%'.

Italia ranks above average: 75% of Italian households live in a house they own, according to OECD data, compared to 59% in France and 41% in Germany.

In the European picture, there are also differences in how people live and what kind of housing they own or rent. A reading of the housing data shows that in 2024, 51% of the population lived in a house, while 48% lived in flats and 1% in different accommodations such as houseboats, camper vans. There is also another aspect concerning the size of houses. On average 1.7 rooms per person. Among the EU countries, the highest number was recorded in Malta with 2.2 rooms per person, followed by Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands with 2.1 rooms. At the other end of the scale Slovakia and Romania both with 1.1 rooms. In spite of the high number of owner-occupied houses in Europe, there is also another aspect: in 17% of the cases the houses are overcrowded. Not only that, 33% were in an under-occupied house, i.e. too large for the needs of the family present. Situations in which, in most cases, elderly people remain in the homes after their children have left.

The Italia case

As for Italia, there is another aspect: it is the European country with the highest number of empty dwellings. Italia, in fact, has 27.3% of unoccupied dwellings, three times more than France (7.8%) and six times more than Germany (4.4%), which translated into absolute numbers means 9.5 million dwellings out of 35 million surveyed. The highest number of unoccupied dwellings is in the South, with 40% in Reggio Calabria and 39% in Messina.

According to ISTAT projections to 2050, the population is expected to decrease by 6.7 per cent and, in addition, there will be a growth in single-person households. A fact that will prompt a change in housing policy with the use of smaller dwellings.

To address the issue of housing poverty, there are several initiatives in the field.

Social Housing

Such as the one promoted by the Foundation with the South, which, with an endowment of 5 million euro, aims to support 'experimental projects to combat housing poverty in the regions of Southern Italy, proposed by the Third Sector organisations of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia Sardinia and Sicily'. The initiative aims to promote, through sustainable social housing and community welfare practices, the autonomy and housing stability of individuals and households in economically and socially vulnerable conditions.

"Housing is the fundamental prerequisite for building pathways to dignity, autonomy and social inclusion," says Stefano Consiglio, President of Fondazione con il Sud. With this call for proposals, the Foundation wants to emphasise the importance of intervening in this area, not only to respond to the immediate needs of those living in difficult conditions, but also to promote a structural change that makes the right to housing more accessible and as stable as possible for all.

Greece

A case in point is Greece, where home ownership is at an all-time low: in 2024 it stood at 69.7 per cent nationally and 64 per cent in the Athens area, in line with the EU average (68.4 per cent) but well below the 78 per cent recorded in 2009, before the financial crisis. Despite foreclosures and sales of impaired loans, the rate was still at 75.5 per cent in 2019; in five years, it has thus decreased by about 5 percentage points. The full liberalisation of expropriation procedures, the 2020 bankruptcy reform that removed first home protection, and the banks' credit crunch all had an impact. In the meantime, rising rent and sale prices have increased the burden of housing costs: according to the GSEE Research Institute, the cost overrun rate for renters reached 37.4 % in 2024 (third highest in the EU), while for those living in a home without a remaining mortgage it stood at 25.7 %, the highest figure among member states.

*This article is part of the European collaborative journalism project "Pulse"