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EU Set to Move on Short-Term Rental Regulations to Ease Housing Crisis
The European Commission is preparing legislation that would make it easier for cities to restrict short-term rentals like Airbnb, as part of a broader push to alleviate Europe's housing shortage.
A forthcoming European Commission proposal would create a shared legal framework for how local authorities regulate short-term accommodation booked through sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. The plan is tied to the bloc's broader Affordable Housing Act.
The commission has placed the initiative on the agenda for its September 9 meeting. In a statement released in December, the executive body argued that EU-level action is needed to coordinate and reinforce city-level measures responding to high housing costs.
The legislation aims to give municipalities clearer powers to manage listings, including in neighborhoods where the housing market is especially strained. It is expected to set out procedures for identifying such stress areas and for handling registration systems, according to the proposal's outline.
The push follows years of mounting tension between short-term rental platforms and local governments in tourist-heavy cities across the continent, where residents have protested surging rent and home prices.