Phoenix 24
Brussels is preparing to treat housing pressure as a market failure requiring public intervention.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
The European Commission is preparing rules that would give national and local authorities clearer legal grounds to restrict short-term holiday rentals and purchases of second homes in areas experiencing severe housing pressure. The proposal would not create a general European ban on Airbnb-style accommodation or non-primary residences, and it has not yet become law.
Under the emerging framework, restrictions would be permitted only where governments can demonstrate that housing availability and affordability have reached critical levels. Brussels is considering indicators such as home prices exceeding eight times local incomes, sustained price increases during the previous decade and evidence that conditions are unlikely to improve within three years.
The Commission is particularly concerned about commercial operators controlling multiple properties rather than individuals occasionally renting their principal residence. Cities could receive greater authority to limit professional holiday-rental portfolios while preserving the ability of residents to rent out their own homes temporarily. Any intervention would also need to respect EU internal-market rules and remain proportionate to the documented local problem.
Short-term rentals account for approximately 1.2 percent of the EU’s total housing stock but can represent as much as 20 percent in heavily visited destinations. Residents of Lisbon, Barcelona, Prague and other tourist centers argue that converting homes into visitor accommodation has reduced long-term supply and forced local rents upward. Across European capitals, house prices increased by almost 65 percent between 2015 and 2025, considerably faster than household incomes.
Brussels acknowledges that regulating tourist rentals and second homes cannot resolve the structural shortage alone. High land and construction costs, slow permitting systems and insufficient social housing also constrain supply, while the Commission estimates Europe needs more than two million new homes annually. Housing policy remains primarily a national and local responsibility, limiting the EU’s ability to order construction directly. Its forthcoming plan will instead combine legislation, investment, state-aid flexibility and administrative reform. The decisive question will be whether these tools return housing to residential use or merely redistribute scarcity without increasing the number of available homes.
La verdad es estructura, no ruido. / Truth is structure, not noise.