HouseEurope! is the European Citizens' Initiative calling for EU legislation to make renovation and reuse of existing structures more easy, affordable and social. The initiative aims to curb demolition driven by speculation and foster a construction industry that prioritizes the potential of existing public and private buildings. As a tool of direct democracy, European Citizens' Initiatives allow citizens to propose legislation at the EU level. For the legislation to be officially considered and implemented by the European Commission and EU member states, it requires the support of 1 million European citizens from at least seven EU countries. Voting starts on February 1st, 2025.
The current system, driven by speculative real estate practices, prioritizes new construction, leading to the demolition of millions of square meters of existing buildings annually. This results in significant social, economic, and environmental costs, including job losses, wasted resources, increased carbon emissions, and the destruction of cultural heritage. The initiative aims to change this by incentivizing renovation, creating a more sustainable and equitable building industry. The proposed legislation is based on 3 key pillars: tax reductions for renovation works and the reuse of materials, fair rules for the assessment of existing buildings, and new values for the embedded CO2 in existing structures.
HouseEurope! emerged from the fight to save the Mäusebunker building from demolition, highlighting a systemic problem: renovation is perceived as riskier and more expensive than new construction, ignoring the social and environmental costs of demolition. By factoring in the hidden costs of demolition and promoting the value of existing structures, HouseEurope! aims for a sustainable and equitable building sector.
The initiative has already gained support from a diverse network, including architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, founders of Herzog & de Meuron, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal of Lacaton & Vassal, design studio Formafantasma, Oana Bogdan, sociologist Joanna Kusiak from Cambridge University, political economist Ann Pettifor, and Ruth Schagemann, President of the Architects' Council of Europe.
