🎯 Main Goals: 

1. Increase availability & affordability of housing.

2. Improve housing conditions nationwide.

📌 The Problem

Poland faces:

1. A housing shortage, especially affordable options.

2. Barriers for first-time buyers.

3. Poor energy efficiency in many buildings.

📅 Short- vs Long-Term Vision

Short-term:

1. Financial support for first-time buyers (loans, subsidies).

Long-term:

1. Build more houses.

2. Renovate existing buildings.

3. Improve energy efficiency.

4. Encourage saving through housing savings accounts.

👨‍👩‍👧 Who Benefits & Who’s Left Out

Positive:

1. Moderate to low-income families.

2. Lower-income households in social housing.

Negative:

1. Very low-income people who can’t save a set minimum.

2. Migrants, stateless people, and some vulnerable groups excluded from programmes.

⚖ Equity

1. Targets the very low-income & medium/high-income, but gaps exist for middle groups.

2. “Rent gap” affects 25% of people — excluded from support.

📊 Impact

1. Helped many young families buy homes.

2. Most people report no major change in housing situation.

3. Overcrowding is high: 35.7% overall, 54% among young people.

🔧 Recommendations – Keep / Fix / Add

Keep:

1. Most existing measures.

Fix:

• Increase social housing share.

• Lower minimum savings requirement.

• Set energy efficiency obligations for new builds.

• Tax on 2nd & 3rd empty homes.

• Strengthen environmental laws to protect sensitive habitats from housing expansion.

Add:

1. Pre-build environmental surveys.

2. Support for transition from social housing to market housing.

3. Mixed-income social housing to reduce segregation.

4. Mandatory biodiversity impact assessments for all housing projects.

5. Eco-certified building materials and renewable energy integration in all new builds.

6. Green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and habitat-friendly landscaping as standard.

7. Wildlife-safe lighting to reduce harm to nocturnal animals in urban areas.

8. Require that all new housing developments include animal-friendly urban design

— e.g., wildlife corridors, green belts, and safe crossings for wild animals.

9. Systemically prevent discrimination against tenants or homeowners with companion animals.

10. Ensure shelters and crisis housing are equipped to host residents with companion animals, to avoid abandonment during crises or evictions.

11. Ban or strictly regulate the use of harmful pest control methods (poisons, glue traps) in housing and construction sites.

This analysis has been conducted by the participants of FYEG’s Summer Camp 2025, funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.