EU executive to propose short-term rental rules to tackle social crisis' in housing

"If we don't, as policymakers, take this problem seriously and acknowledge that this is a social problem and needs action, then the anti-EU populists will win, he said, adding that Brussels had so far failed to deliver on some of the key elements of the housing crisis."

"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."

"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."

The EU executive will propose rules to tackle short-term rentals via platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to confront a social crisis of housing affordability. The EU’s first-ever housing commissioner has been tasked with producing an affordable housing plan moved forward to December from 2026 due to urgency. The plan will address areas of clear European competence, notably short-term rentals, where more European rules are considered necessary. Short-term accommodation has expanded rapidly across European cities and is blamed for raising rents, displacing local residents from historic centres, and turning neighbourhoods into tourist zones. Specific platforms and detailed measures were not named.

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