A bold European movement is challenging the culture of demolition in favour of intelligent reuse. The HouseEurope! initiative, launched on 1 February 2025, is rallying citizens across the EU to sign a petition calling for legislation that makes renovation and reuse the cornerstone of sustainable construction.

The campaign’s urgency is clear: by 2050, Europe could lose 1.5 billion m² of building space through demolition — more than the combined area of Paris and Berlin, and enough to house 50 million people. With the construction sector already responsible for 38% of CO₂ emissions and 36% of EU waste, HouseEurope! argues that every demolition destroys not just materials, but also embodied energy, cultural identity, and social value. Co-Initiators and Campaign Managers, Olaf Grawert and Alina Kolar, explain:  

“Every minute, a building in Europe is destroyed — not by natural disasters, but by financial speculation. And while a few profit, we all pay the price: with rising rents and rising temperatures. We’re running out of time! HouseEurope! is a call to action: sign and support now to stop the demolition drama and renovate, don’t speculate!”

At its core, the initiative calls for a legal ‘right to re-use’ and a fundamental shift in policy and practice. It proposes ultra-low VAT rates for renovation projects, tax exemptions on reused materials, and updated valuation standards that recognise the existing building stock’s embodied energy and potential, rather than just its risks.

“The whole value chain of the construction industry operates within a system that was designed to build fast, cheap, and easy,” say Grawert and Kolar. “In Europe, this traces back to the post-war period, when the continent lay in ruins, and we created laws, methods, and financial incentives to rebuild quickly. But times have changed: we now know that all resources and materials are limited.”

They argue that the same spirit of coordinated reform that rebuilt Europe must now be redirected toward preservation. “We must set the framework for our next goal: the renovation, adaptation, and transformation of the existing building stock. That requires new laws, methods, and incentives, and a shift of focus — from materials towards labour, from centralised production to decentralised, local work.”

The European Union’s Renovation Wave has already outlined a similar ambition, but progress remains slow: only 25% of Europe’s buildings have been renovated so far, and the current annual renovation rate sits at just 1%. “At that pace, it would take 75 years to renovate Europe — but according to our legally binding climate goals, we have only until 2050,” say the campaigners. “We must triple the renovation rate across Europe — and that means three times more work for everyone in the construction and renovation sector.”

HouseEurope! proposes clear incentives: reducing VAT on renovation to make it the default choice, and eliminating VAT on reused materials, since it has already been paid once. The goal is to make renovation the rule, not the exception — shifting Europe’s building culture from wasteful replacement to creative transformation.

“Reuse and renovation start long before the building site. It begins with making existing value visible: understanding what’s already there, documenting not only the risks but also the potentials, and designing differently with what we have,” say Grawert and Kolar.

Their message is gaining recognition. This year, HouseEurope! has been honoured by the OBEL Award in Brussels for its “spearheading role in raising awareness and mobilising public support for a paradigm shift in European construction and housing culture.”

As Europe faces the climate clock, the movement’s rallying cry is clear: renovate, don’t speculate.

For more information visit: www.houseeurope.eu and click here to sign the petition