UIPI Policy Areas
In the past 10 to 15 years, UIPI policy focuses changed drastically with the adoption at EU level of key policy initiatives impacting the real estate sector. Despite the fact that topics of foremost interests for property owners, such as taxation and housing are not yet EU competences, EU policy are not housing neutral.
The main goals of UIPI’s Brussels-based public affairs team is to increase European policy makers’ awareness of the importance of private, individually owned real estate sector and voice our members’ interests in new and prospective EU legislation that directly impacts our sector and our members.
EU Climate, environment and energy policy developments together with construction, technical, accessibility, safety and building appliances standards coming from Brussels are shaping the way our buildings are built, renovated and even destructed nowadays. Internal market and consumer protection rules are impacting on housing leases but they are also protecting homeowners and landlords in contractual relationships with construction professionals and services providers. The reinforcement of banking regulation shapes national mortgage regulations. Competition rules are preventing sectoral abuses that could have major consequences on EU customers and EU property owners and they are ensuring a level playing field in the housing sector. Even marital and inheritance rules for cross-borders households are now solved at EU level.
Last but not least, the recent European Economic Governance procedure in response to the crisis is yet touching upon topics that until now strictly remained of national competences such as housing market regulation, property taxation and urban and rural planning.
As a matter of fact, almost all EU areas impact on real estate and there are about 50 directives that have a direct effect on real estate and the interests of European homeowners and private landlords.
Therefore, next to its traditional activities on rental regulation, taxation and property restitution, UIPI is focusing on EU policies affecting the interests of property owners and became one of the leading voices of the real estate sector at EU level.
UIPI policy areas could be summarised as such:
- Environmental and Energy Policy
- Technical Standards
- Internal Market Regulation
- Construction
- European Economic Governance
- Taxation
- Rental Regulation
- Property Restitution
