European Commission Proposes Affordable Housing Act to Limit Short Term Rentals
8 sources across 5 countries
Who reported this
- Der Spiegel
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Deutsche Welle
- ANSA
- Corriere della Sera
- South China Morning Post
- El Pais
- Bloomberg
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- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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The European Commission has proposed the Affordable Housing Act, a new regulatory framework designed to provide local authorities with legal support to restrict short term holiday rentals and the purchase of property for short term letting. The proposal aims to address housing shortages and rising costs in tourist hotspots by clarifying when cities can take action without violating EU single market rules. Under the plan, authorities may designate areas as being under housing stress based on specific criteria, such as when the average home price is at least eight times the median available income per capita. In cases where the ratio reaches or exceeds ten, the area may be designated as stressed without further historical data. To implement restrictions, cities must demonstrate that holiday rentals have negatively impacted housing affordability or availability for at least three years and that the situation is unlikely to improve in the following three years. The proposed rules would not apply to landlords renting out their primary residences. The legislation must still be approved by EU legislators and member states. While the Commission emphasizes that housing policy remains a national and local competence, the act seeks to harmonize the legal basis for interventions to prevent the court challenges that have previously hindered cities like Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona. Rental industry lobbyists, including CCIA Europe, have criticized the proposal, arguing that it lacks independent scrutiny and fails to provide legal certainty. Some center right perspectives highlight that the parameters may be unsuitable for specific national markets, while center left perspectives emphasize the social crisis and the need to protect essential workers and students from being priced out of their cities.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Framed the issue as a social crisis and a fight against rental price gouging and speculation.
- Centre
- Presented the proposal as a tool for harmonization and a response to market failure.
- Centre-right
- Focused on the legal leeway given to cities and the potential for the rules to be unsuitable for certain national contexts.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: EU launches new rules to limit short term rentals against high housing costs
- Centre Bloomberg: EU Offers Legal Backing for Cities Targeting Tourist Rentals
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: Short rentals, EU crackdown in housing stress zones: how the threshold of 8 works and what changes for second homes
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Short-term rental: EU Commission wants to tighten rules for Airbnb and Co.
- Centre Deutsche Welle: EU proposes more restrictions for Airbnb, holiday rentals
- Centre-left El Pais: Brussels proposes limits on vacation rentals in stressed areas to improve access to housing
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: EU plan aims to help cities crack down on Airbnb, holiday rentals
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Europe: Brussels wants to alleviate the housing shortage
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Affordable housing: How European cities are fighting against Airbnb
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.