Across Europe, millions of households are devoting an outsized share of their budgets to keeping a roof over their heads. According to Eurostat, the EU's housing cost overburden rate—the share of people living in households that spend more than 40% of disposable income on housing—stood at 7.7% in 2025. That translates to over 34 million people in the EU alone.
The figures come against a backdrop of soaring property prices. Eurostat data shows that house prices in the EU rose by an average of 69% between 2015 and the second quarter of 2026, with some member states seeing increases of more than 100%. Rents and energy bills have also climbed steadily, prompting the European Council to declare that “Europe faces a crisis driven by rising house prices and increasing housing costs.”
Where the burden is heaviest
Greece stands out as the country with the highest housing cost overburden rate among the 34 nations for which data are available (the 27 EU member states, two EFTA countries, and five EU candidate countries). In 2025, 26.4% of Greeks lived in households spending more than 40% of their disposable income on housing—more than three times the EU average.
Denmark follows among EU countries at 14.7%, with Germany (11.2%) and Sweden (10.8%) also well above the average. Estonia (8.8%), Czechia (8.2%) and Luxembourg (8.1%) round out the EU countries above the 7.7% threshold. Outside the EU, Switzerland (15.3%) and Norway (13.5%) record high rates, while Turkey (10%), Montenegro (8.7%) and Serbia (7.9%) also exceed the EU average.
At the other end of the scale, Cyprus has the lowest rate at just 2.4%, followed by Croatia (3.2%), Slovenia (3.5%) and Slovakia (3.5%). Among the EU's largest economies, Spain (7.2%), France (6.4%) and Italy (5.0%) all sit below the average, while Germany ranks fifth overall.
Why the differences?
Experts caution that the drivers vary significantly from country to country. “Given the very different contexts, not least in terms of economy and welfare system, the explanations for the level of the housing cost overburden in Greece, Switzerland and Denmark are not the same. And the consequences are not either,” said Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen, senior researcher at Aalborg University. She noted that the money left after paying rent differs considerably between these countries, as do living costs, so the impact on households varies too.
Dr Hannah Widmer from ETH Zürich pointed to the interplay of housing tenure structures, welfare systems and the broader economic situation. “It's probably the interplay between housing tenure structures (with tenants renting from the private rental market usually having the highest housing cost burden), welfare systems and the broader economic situation that explains higher or lower shares of housing cost overburden,” she told European Pulse. She also warned that comparing countries is complex: experiencing housing cost overburden can mean something very different in Switzerland than in Greece, depending on welfare provisions and the quality of housing.
Dr Marietta Haffner from TU Delft highlighted the role of rising costs. “When housing costs such as house prices, rents, energy prices, interest rates and inflation rise faster than income, the share of housing costs in income increases,” she said. “It is likely that the increasing energy costs will be a main driver in the next year of increasing housing costs.”
Absolute numbers: Germany leads
While rates tell one story, absolute numbers reveal the scale of the problem. Germany has the highest number of people affected by housing cost overburden, at 9.4 million. Turkey follows with 8.6 million, ahead of France (4.4 million), Spain (3.5 million) and Italy (2.9 million). Greece, despite its smaller population, ranks sixth with 2.7 million people affected.
The burden falls disproportionately on those already struggling. Among EU residents at risk of poverty—defined as having an equivalised disposable income below 60% of the national median—the housing cost overburden rate jumps to 29.1%. In Greece, a staggering 82.6% of this group spends over 40% of their income on housing, meaning more than four in five are affected. Denmark (59.8%) and Switzerland (56.1%) follow, with Sweden (46.8%), Norway (43.8%) and Czechia (43.4%) also above 40%.
Germany (35.0%) is above the EU average for this vulnerable group, while Spain (28.3%), France (25.4%) and Italy (21.7%) fall below it. The EU's median equivalised disposable income stood at €22,939 per year (€1,912 per month) in 2025, with the at-risk-of-poverty threshold set at €1,147 per month.
The housing crisis is not just a statistical issue—it has real-world consequences. In Lisbon, housing protests have reached parliament, and Italy has seen strikes over living costs. As energy prices continue to surge, the pressure on household budgets is likely to intensify, making the housing cost overburden a defining issue for European policymakers.
