The Cyprus Borrowers Association (Syprodat) this week released a statement describing the “immediate and effective implementation of measures to tackle high living costs and secure a better future for young people and society as a whole” as vital.

In its announcement, the association said that “the rising cost of living is one of the most significant challenges faced by young people today, as high living expenses affect their daily lives and future prospects”.

“The increase in the prices of essential goods, along with high housing and energy costs, has impacted young people’s financial independence, forcing many to seek less favourable alternatives,” it added.

According to Syprodat, addressing high living costs requires “targeted measures that will provide relief to citizens, particularly young people, while also supporting the economy’s sustainability”.

In this context, the association has proposed a range of measures, including price controls on essential goods, subsidies, and tax relief.

Regarding subsidies and tax relief, the association referred to government support for reducing electricity and fuel costs, which “could assist vulnerable households, especially given that green taxation is expected to be implemented from May”.

It further said that, to date, “there are no clear indications of what these offsetting measures for green taxation will entail”.

What is more, Syprodat also suggested promoting affordable housing through initiatives “to support the development of low-cost housing or rental apartments, which could ease the burden of high rents for young people”.

Housing costs a Europe-wide issue

It should be noted that the issues plaguing young people in Cyprus are not unique.

This segment of the population across the European Union (EU) is facing mounting challenges in securing affordable and adequate housing, with many delaying their move out of the parental home due to financial pressures.

According to the European Commission, the average age at which young people left home stood at 26.3 years in 2023, although significant variations exist between countries.

“Countries on both ends of the spectrum tend to be stable across time, pointing to different practices concerning co-residence of generations among EU countries,” an EU report highlighted.

Housing affordability is a growing concern, with 10.1 per cent of young people aged 15-29 living in households that spend 40 per cent or more of their disposable income on housing.

This rate is notably higher than the 8.9 per cent recorded for the total population.

The issue is particularly severe in Greece, where 31.1 per cent of young people face housing cost overburden, followed by Luxembourg (27.5 per cent) and Denmark (27.3 per cent).

Moreover, overcrowding is another pressing issue. In 2023, 26.0 per cent of young Europeans lived in overcrowded dwellings, a rate 9.2 percentage points higher than the general population.

The situation is most acute in Romania, where 59.4 per cent of young people experience overcrowding, followed by Bulgaria (55.3 per cent) and Latvia (54.8 per cent).

The lowest rate was recorded in Malta at just 3.9 per cent.

Some countries exhibit a strong correlation between later home-leaving ages and lower housing cost burdens.

“Countries where young people move out of the parental home later, like Cyprus, Croatia and Italy, tend to report lower levels of housing cost overburden,” the report stated.

However, this trend does not hold universally, as Greece and Bulgaria—despite their higher-than-average home-leaving ages—continue to experience high housing cost burdens among young people.