EU to propose short-term rental rules to tackle ‘social crisis’ in housing

Demonstrators in Barcelona against mass tourism spray water at tourists as part of their protest. Short-term accommodation has been blamed for driving up rents and turning residential neighbourhoods into tourist zones.

The EU executive is to propose rules to tackle the “huge problem” of short-term rentals via platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, its first-ever housing commissioner has said.

Dan Jørgensen said the bloc wants to confront the “social crisis” of people struggling to afford a home.

He said it is time for Brussels policymakers to take housing seriously or cede ground to anti-EU populists, who, he said, do not have the answers to the shortage of affordable homes.

He said Brussels has so far “failed to deliver” on some of the key elements of the housing crisis.

Jørgensen, a Danish Social Democrat, has been tasked with crafting the EU’s first-ever affordable housing plan, which is expected to be made public in December. He said publication had been brought forward from 2026, citing the urgency of “the social crisis”.

Brussels has traditionally stayed out of housing policy, but Jørgensen insisted it was a matter for the EU. “The upcoming housing plan will cover areas where it is indeed very clear that [housing] is a European competence and where we have failed to deliver so far … One of those areas is short-term rentals, where we do need more European rules,” he said.

'A huge problem'

Short-term accommodation, rented via Airbnb and other websites, has boomed across European cities in recent years and been blamed for driving up rents, forcing local people out of historic centres, and turning residential neighbourhoods into tourist zones. Jørgensen said short-term rentals are “a huge problem in many cities” but did not name specific websites or detail any proposals.

Concerns about short-term rentals have come against the backdrop of a general increase in rents and mortgages. Between 2010 and 2023, house prices in the EU increased by 48% and rents by 22% at a time when inflation grew 36%, according to Eurostat. Some renters and would-be buyers saw much steeper increases: during the same period, rents in Ireland went up by 98%, Estonia went up by 211% and 169% in Lithuania.

By 2023, nearly 9% of the EU population spent 40% or more of their disposable income on housing.

Jørgensen, who is also tasked with reducing energy prices, said the EU’s affordable housing plan would address the “financialisation” of housing, because “it is clear that when housing becomes a commodity, something that is used for speculation with no need to take into consideration the rest of the society, then of course that potentially causes problems”. 

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He declined to discuss policy details, but said the commission was studying how member states had sought to eliminate or reduce this problem, such as requirements on developers to build a percentage of affordable homes.

Ursula von der Leyen’s commission has some radical ideas to draw on, which could test EU law. Spain is planning a 100% tax on the value of properties bought by non-EU residents, while socialist MEPs want the commission to consider a ban on foreign purchases of real estate.

Guardian