The Ministry is proceeding with the completion of the National Housing Strategy, Domna Michailidou announced.

While attending the Delphi Economic Forum, Minister Social Cohesion and Family highlighted the importance of the new strategy as a key pillar of social policy, noting that it is in the final stage of formulation.

The initiative is part of a broader framework of interventions to address housing challenges, with the aim of creating a coherent and effective framework of support for citizens.

As he said, the strategy is structured around the pillars of increasing supply, housing assistance and structural reforms and is anchored on a pioneering study that brings together for the first time detailed data on the housing stock across the country.

He explained that this data, mapped at the regional and municipal level, now provides the State with a clear picture of housing needs by region, allowing the design of interventions that respond to the real pressures faced by each local community.

Participating in a panel, “Building the Future of Affordable Housing“, Domna Michaelidou, in conversation with international Real Estate expert and former head of the British government agency Homes England, Peter Denton, who conveyed the British experience, of different sizes and traditions, however, analyzed the government’s overall plan through a series of successive interventions.

The Minister stressed that Greece, with no particular tradition in social housing, apart from the Workers’ Housing Organisation, with its problems, must fill a decades-old gap by implementing a coherent social housing programme through 43 targeted measures worth €7 billion. Measures that are brought together on the platform stegasi.gov.gr.

As he explained, government policy is drastically shifting from strengthening demand to substantially boosting housing supply, with targeting an increase in the housing stock as the only realistic way to reduce prices.

Subsequently, participating in the panel on “Social Real Estate Models.NE.DI.VI.M) and Ioannis Bitzis (Strategy & Implementation Partner at EY-Parthenon Greece), Domna Michailidou gave special emphasis on new forms of partnership to ensure affordable housing.

She outlined the new strategy for social housing, stressing that housing is the basis for addressing the demographic issue, while she described as necessary the partnership and responsibility of both the market and society, which she said recognises the usefulness of social housing, but not in its own area.

The minister referred specifically to the Social Rent programme, where at least 30% of the housing will be made available at a controlled low rent, as well as the collaboration with the Ministry of National Defence for the construction of 2,300 houses in military camps.

He also presented the timeline for implementation, with the delivery of the first 500 to 700 homes set for 2029, and noted that in Thessaloniki, 40 apartments have already been renovated through the Recovery Fund and are in the process of being leased.

“Housing is not a ‘luxury’ right, but a common, human right,” he noted, noting that housing is inextricably linked to the demographic issue, as ensuring decent housing is the necessary condition for the creation of a new family.

For their part, other participants acknowledged the complexity of the social housing project and the different needs for each social group.

Stamboulidis said that in addition to resolving the complex legal issues, the Yperti Fund would look at possible improvements required by this experience, while Ms. Rokofyllou expressed optimism that the programs implemented by I.NE.DI.VI.M, with financial support for students and their families, as well as the renovation and construction of new student residences, will improve the situation.