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Union Internationale de la Propriété Immobilière - International Union of Property Owners

UIPI

UIPI is a leading pan-European association representing homeowners and private landlords.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Construction services Act

12 Dec 2025

The International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the European Commission's Call for Evidence on the upcoming Construction Services Act. As the largest European association representing individual homeowners, co-owners, and private landlords, i.e. the end of the construction value chain, UIPI is uniquely positioned to offer a constructive and balanced perspective, as our members are the individual and institutional clients who finance, own, manage, and operate the real estate stock, particularly housing. As owners and investors, we are the first to be impacted by the cost, administrative complexity, and possible lack of productivity within the construction ecosystem. Our perspective is therefore essential to align EU policies with the realities on the ground and the needs of society. UIPI calls for a more consistent system that strengthens the mutual recognition of national certificates, streamlines and proportionately harmonies existing EU rules, and cuts unnecessary administrative burden. The upcoming Construction Services Act, together with the European Construction Strategy, can play an important role in tackling structural challenges, including high costs, limited supply, weak competition and regulatory fragmentation, and help improve efficiency while safeguarding professional standards, consumer protection, quality and safety. The objective should be to streamline and facilitate construction activities, not to introduce additional layers of complexity for construction companies, in particular SMEs, ultimately for the benefit of consumers and to ensure that the EU can meet both the growing demand for housing and its ambitious renovation objectives. For further considerations, please refer to our position paper attached.
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UIPI urges simpler EU taxonomy to boost building renovations

5 Dec 2025
Topic — The Commission is reviewing technical screening criteria for the EU environmental taxonomy.
Message — UIPI requests simpler technical screening criteria to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for owners. They advocate for better alignment with updated European energy performance of buildings legislation. The group suggests making certain environmental criteria observational to prevent blocking green alignment.123
Why — Revised rules would help property owners secure affordable financing for necessary building renovations.45
Impact — Environmental groups may fear that relaxed criteria reduce the taxonomy's rigorous sustainability standards.6
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Meeting with Barbara Brandtner (Director Competition) and Unknown Organization

19 Nov 2025 · Discussion on the ongoing revision of State aid rules on housing

Property owners urge EU to prioritize building reuse over demolition

6 Nov 2025
Topic — This consultation addresses the proposed Circular Economy Act to enhance EU resource efficiency.
Message — UIPI requests prioritizing building preservation and adaptive reuse to avoid unnecessary demolition costs. They also call for simplified VAT rules and the removal of binding recycled-content quotas.12
Why — This approach reduces long-term maintenance costs and prevents unfair utility price increases for owners.34
Impact — Plastic producers and waste processors would bear the costs of emissions and compliance auditing.56
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Meeting with Stefan Moser (Head of Unit Energy)

6 Nov 2025 · Balance of interests between tenants and owners in housing policy

Property owners urge simple climate reporting for new buildings

28 Oct 2025
Topic — Establishing a common Union framework for calculating global warming potential of new buildings.
Message — UIPI demands a simple, cost-efficient procedure that utilizes existing data instead of creating new burdens. They request a single indicator and simplified rules for small residential buildings.12
Why — This would protect property owners from additional bureaucratic costs and investment delays.34
Impact — Environmental groups lose detailed transparency if product-specific emissions data remains strictly optional.5
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UIPI Urges Stronger Consumer Protection in District Heating

9 Oct 2025
Topic — EU strategy to accelerate decarbonisation of heating and cooling through renewable energy technologies.
Message — The organisation demands robust consumer protections and transparent tariff settings to safeguard captive heating customers. They call for property owners to have a guaranteed right to feed surplus heat into networks. They also seek to eliminate split incentives that prevent landlords from recovering energy renovation costs.12
Why — Stronger financial incentives would help property owners recover the costs of energy efficiency upgrades.3
Impact — District heating operators would face stricter price controls and lose their ability to exploit customers.4
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Property owners demand lower energy taxes and grid upgrades

9 Oct 2025
Topic — The EU Electrification Action Plan seeks to shift energy consumption from fossil fuels to electricity.
Message — UIPI advocates for lowering electricity taxes and streamlining energy regulations through an Omnibus initiative to ensure affordability. They request enforceable energy sharing rights and the removal of bureaucratic barriers for landlords supplying on-site power. The plan should prioritize grid digitalization while maintaining technological neutrality for property owners.123
Why — These measures would reduce compliance costs and shield property owners from volatile energy prices.45
Impact — National governments may face reduced revenue from lower electricity excise duties and simplified fiscal frameworks.6
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UIPI Demands Simpler Rules to Fix European Housing Supply

16 Sept 2025
Topic — A new EU initiative aims to increase productivity and competitiveness in housing construction.
Message — UIPI requests simplification of administrative processes and faster building permits to reduce project delays. They advocate for regulatory predictability and better coordination between EU and national housing policies.12
Why — Simplified regulations would reduce construction costs and improve investment predictability for property owners.34
Impact — Equipment manufacturers and national service providers may lose their current local market monopolies.5
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Response to Review of the State aid rules on the Services of General Economic Interest (“SGEI”)

22 Jul 2025

The International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commissions consultation process on the revision of state aid rules for services of general economic interest (SGEI), with a particular focus on housing. UIPI is the leading representative organisation of homeowners and private landlords in Europe, bringing together 31 national member associations from 28 countries. We represent a broad spectrum of property owners, from individual homeowners to small and larger private landlords, some of whom are also directly involved in the provision of social housing. The issues raised in this consultation are of major significance to UIPI. In particular, the proposal to broaden the housing SGEI definition deserves careful consideration due to its potentially far-reaching implications for housing markets across the EU. UIPI supports the role of social and affordable housing within a well-functioning and balanced housing system. In high-demand areas, increasing the availability of social and affordable housing can alleviate pressure on the private rental market and bring benefits to both tenants and homeowners. However, any public intervention must be clearly justified, proportionate, and targeted, so as not to disrupt housing markets or discourage private investment in housing provision.
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Meeting with Stefan Moser (Head of Unit Energy)

6 Jun 2025 · Policies for Affordable and Sustainable in Europe: What Should Be the Role of the EU?

Response to European Affordable Housing Plan

3 Jun 2025

The International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) welcomes the European Commission's call for evidence on the upcoming EU Affordable Housing Initiative. Housing is a fundamental component of social cohesion, economic resilience, and the green transition. As the largest European association representing individual homeowners, co-owners and private landlords, UIPI is uniquely positioned to contribute a constructive and balanced perspective on how to improve housing availability, affordability, and sustainability across the EU. While the EU has no direct competence in housing policy, a growing number of EU initiatives in areas such as energy, climate, finance, and the internal market increasingly impact national housing systems. UIPI sees the European Affordable Housing Plan as an opportunity to better align these actions, offering clarity and coherence to address structural challenges without infringing on Member States' competences. UIPI looks forward to engaging further on specific topics where our expertise can add value. In the meantime, in the attached document, the following guiding principles and areas of action are suggested, which, in UIPIs opinion, can contribute to making the Affordable Housing Plan a success.
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Meeting with Matthew Baldwin (Deputy Director-General Energy) and European Construction Industry Federation and

2 Jun 2025 · Housing, homelessness, social housing, sustainability, short term rental accommodations, construction

UIPI urges national flexibility in building energy performance methodology

7 May 2025
Topic — The Commission is revising the methodology for calculating cost-optimal energy performance in buildings.
Message — UIPI requests that Member States retain the choice to calculate energy requirements from a purely financial perspective. They argue countries should use local data for energy and technology prices to reflect specific market conditions.12
Why — This flexibility helps property owners avoid higher costs associated with macroeconomic environmental calculations.3
Impact — Environmental and health sectors lose if broad social benefits are excluded from performance calculations.4
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Meeting with Borja Giménez Larraz (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Banco Santander, S.A. and

8 Apr 2025 · Housing crisis in the European Union

Meeting with Dirk Gotink (Member of the European Parliament) and European Construction Industry Federation

8 Apr 2025 · Housing - APA

Meeting with Ondřej Krutílek (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Mar 2025 · EPBD Directive

Meeting with Stefan Moser (Head of Unit Energy)

19 Feb 2025 · The European Affordable Housing Plan and the role of Swedish property companies

Meeting with Eero Heinäluoma (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Feb 2025 · UIPI Pro Party

Response to Evaluation of the EU Lifts Directive

12 Feb 2025

The International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) is the largest network of private property owners in Europe. Through our 30 member associations, we represent more than 5 million owner-occupiers and landlords owning between 20 and 25 million dwellings in 28 European countries. UIPI welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commissions efforts to evaluate the Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU in order to update the previous 2019s evaluation. The Lifts Directive certainly represents a considerable piece of legislation for property owners as it includes major implications for lift owners and users. As dully explained in the Commissions call for evidence, the Lifts Directive governs the design, manufacture and installation of lifts while excludes the maintenance and modernisation of lifts once they have been placed on the market. Our members generally consider that the Lift Directive is fit for purpose. Therefore, any consideration of potential changes should be carefully evaluated to ensure that the benefits of specific amendments justify the associated regulatory costs. Nonetheless, UIPI has formulated key considerations for the evaluation of the current Directive when it comes to the scope of the Directive, ensuring the availability of compatible spare parts to prevent obsolescence, as well as ensuring interoperability in control systems to avoid market lock-In. In this regard, we particularly welcome the question Have you encountered any issues in the past ten years with the supply of parts, components and software, which are necessary for the repair and/or maintenance of your lifts (for example, refusal from suppliers, significant delays, excessive prices, etc.)? under the section Flat and Lift Owners of the public consultation, which results will allow to provide concrete examples and data from the ground in support of UIPIs considerations that have been developed in the attached document titled "UIPI's comments on the evaluation of lifts directive 2014/33/EU".
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Meeting with Marko Vešligaj (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Feb 2025 · Housing policies

Meeting with Nikolina Brnjac (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Jan 2025 · Sustainable and affordable housing in Europe

UIPI Urges Flexible Loans to Support All Property Owners

5 Nov 2024
Topic — EU consultation on a voluntary framework to increase bank lending for building energy renovations.
Message — UIPI requests a flexible, voluntary framework ensuring affordable credit for owners of low-rated buildings. They want rules aligned with existing EU sustainability laws to reduce administrative complexity. They also insist that property owners must keep the final word on renovation decisions.12
Why — This approach protects property owners from being forced into renovations or facing penalizing interest rates.3
Impact — Environmental groups lose the speed of mandatory targets due to the flexible, voluntary approach.4
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Meeting with Maravillas Abadía Jover (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Oct 2024 · Housing

Meeting with Andrea Wechsler (Member of the European Parliament) and BUSINESSEUROPE and

23 Sept 2024 · EU Energy and Industry Policy

Meeting with Andreas Glück (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Jun 2024 · Climate Policy

Property Owners Urge Realistic Circular Economy Taxonomy Targets

3 May 2023
Topic — The initiative creates a classification system for sustainable economic activities contributing to EU environmental objectives.
Message — The organization requests a feasibility check for the 90% recycling target and a gradual introduction of data reporting requirements. They also suggest using building components rather than gross floor area for renovation calculations.123
Why — This avoids non-compliance risks and administrative burdens caused by current data gaps in the construction sector.4
Impact — High environmental ambitions for waste reduction are deferred, potentially slowing the transition to a circular economy.5
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Meeting with Franc Bogovič (Member of the European Parliament)

19 May 2022 · Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

UIPI urges progressive energy standards and robust renovation funding

19 Mar 2021
Topic — The consultation concerns revising rules to double annual energy renovation rates for buildings.
Message — UIPI advocates for a flexible, progressive introduction of mandatory energy standards. They emphasize preventing overregulation while ensuring renovation requirements remain affordable for owners. The group requests robust financial support and standardized one-stop-shops to assist households.12
Why — This approach shields property owners from disproportionate investment costs and asset devaluation.3
Impact — Climate goals and environmental groups lose as flexible mandates slow the decarbonization process.4
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Property owners urge EU to fund renovations instead of mandates

8 Jun 2020
Topic — This consultation covers a strategy to increase energy efficiency through building renovations.
Message — The group requests financial support like grants and loans to make building renovations affordable. They argue that the EU should avoid mandatory measures and focus on cost-effectiveness.123
Why — Homeowners and landlords would avoid high upfront renovation costs and new regulatory requirements.4
Impact — Tenants may lose out on lower energy bills if renovation remains voluntary for landlords.5
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Meeting with Kadri Simson (Commissioner) and

23 Apr 2020 · How building renovation can contribute to post covid-19 recovery, how to get renovation projects off the ground, how to remove regulatory obstacles and improve advice.

Meeting with Miguel Arias Cañete (Commissioner) and European Landowners' Organization asbl and European Property Federation

25 Feb 2016 · Review of the EED and EPBD