Those aged under 29 are struggling to pay their rent every month. Photo by Yuedongzi CHAI on Unsplash
Young renters in the European Union are struggling to pay rent, according to new Eurostat data. Over the last year, around 15% of younger renters, especially those living in Greece, France and the Netherlands, are not able to meet their rent payments due to rising living costs.
Younger Greek renters are struggling the most to pay rent
Thousands of EU citizens have not been able to pay rent, an average of 6.3% across EU nations. Eurostat data suggests that Greece has the highest rate of people who are struggling, (17.7%,) followed by France (16.7%), Slovenia (10.5%) and the Netherlands (10.4%).16 to 29-year-olds are those who are struggling the most; 23.8% in France, 23.4% in Greece, and 16.1% in the Netherlands. In Spain, it is estimated that 8.9% of those aged under 29 are not able to pay their monthly rent, either.
The cost of living rises in the E.U, but wages have not
The Eurostat data, which excludes countries with low data reliability, also shows that 4.9% of people in the EU have experienced housing difficulties in their lifetime, meaning that, at some point, they had no place of their own and were forced to stay in temporary accommodation. In the first quarter of 2024, house prices in the EU increased by 0.4% and rents by 0.9%. This has placed a huge strain on individuals living in the EU because living costs have risen, but unfortunately, wages have not.
Rent increases across the E.U are causing financial hardship
Between 2010 and the first quarter of 2024, house prices have increased by 49% and rents by 24% across the EU. Many factors have come into play regarding this surge, but if the cost of living rises are not taken into consideration regarding wages, there is always going to be a deficit between income and outgoings. The increase underscores the growing financial burden of essential living costs on European households, Electricity, food prices and petrol have substantially increased over the past five years and there does not seem to be any indication that the cost of living will become stable any time soon. Inflation is also playing its part., although this has dropped down to 2.2% in August, compared to the 2.6% it sat at during July.
Currently, there is very little government financial aid available to young renters in the E.U. which means the issue is unlikely to improve any time soon unless the problem is addressed in all the European Union countries.
