Housing Unaffordability Is a Government-Created Problem
May 13, 2026 · Frisian News
Governments across Europe restrict housing supply through zoning laws and building regulations while blaming markets for rising prices. Lifting these controls would do more to solve the crisis than any subsidy or price cap.
A young couple in Amsterdam spent months hunting for a two-bedroom flat. They found one last week at a rent far beyond their means. Their story repeats across Europe's cities, but politicians treat housing scarcity as a natural disaster instead of what it is: a policy choice. Governments created this mess through zoning laws, building height restrictions, environmental reviews that drag on for years, and parking requirements that bloat construction costs.
The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany all cap how much land cities can use for housing. They protect green space and low-rise character at the expense of anyone under forty. Planning bureaucrats in Den Haag and Brussels require permits for everything, adding years to any project. Environmental impact assessments for a five-story apartment block can run to large sums and stretch on for years. These rules function like a tax on new housing, passed entirely to renters and buyers.
When prices skyrocket, governments respond with rent controls and purchase subsidies, neither of which address the root cause. Rent controls shrink the supply further because builders avoid weak-return markets. Purchase subsidies just get capitalized into higher prices, leaving affordability unchanged. The government then claims it tried to help while protecting the very rules that caused the crisis. Meanwhile, existing homeowners benefit from artificial scarcity and vote to keep barriers high.
A few places have broken this pattern. Texas cities that relaxed zoning rules saw housing supply rise and prices stabilize. Minneapolis abolished single-family zoning and new construction followed. These successes pose a threat to Europe's planning establishment, which derives power from controlling development. Loosening rules means surrendering influence to market forces and local communities that want to build.
Until governments slash zoning restrictions and streamline permitting, housing will remain unaffordable for ordinary workers. No amount of state spending will fix a problem rooted in state-imposed scarcity. The honest choice is clear: either free up land and let builders work, or admit that housing affordability ranks below neighborhood preservation in official priorities.
Published May 13, 2026 · Frisian News