Europe's Housing Crisis Worsened by Tourists: EU Moves to Regulate Airbnb and Others

As short-term rentals catering to surging tourist demand thrive, driving up housing prices in Europe and drawing mounting complaints from local residents, the European Union (EU) is pushing to regulate short-term rentals.

According to foreign media outlets including AFP on the 4th (local time), the European Commission is preparing to provide European cities with new legal tools to restrict short-term rental services like Airbnb in response to the severe housing shortage, and plans to unveil a draft bill containing the relevant regulations on the 9th.

Residents of European cities that draw tens of millions of tourists every year, such as Barcelona, Spain, and Florence, Italy, complain that short-term rental housing for tourists is fueling soaring home prices, making it increasingly difficult to find a place to live.

According to the European Commission, short-term rental activity within the region surged by 93% between 2018 and 2024.

While local authorities have sought to tighten regulations on short-term rentals in response to public outcry, they have struggled to take action due to pushback from rental and tourism industries, as well as lingering legal uncertainty over whether such regulations might conflict with EU single-market rules.

AFP reported that the draft regulation, prepared as part of the "Affordable Housing Act" unveiled by the European Commission last December as a solution to the worsening regional housing crisis, includes provisions allowing local authorities to restrict access to or the provision of short-term rentals if the area is under "housing supply pressure," and to put the brakes on purchasing real estate for the purpose of short-term rentals.

In addition, national governments and local authorities will be able to designate specific areas as suffering from a "housing crisis" based on indicators such as the "price-to-income ratio" of local real estate.

However, homeowners renting out their primary residence for short periods will be exempt from the regulations.

In Europe, housing issues have previously not been officially overseen by the EU—unlike issues such as agriculture, immigration, and trade—allowing member states to independently implement policies ranging from urban planning to rent and housing subsidies. However, as housing prices have soared and shortages have become severe in many major regional countries recently, pressure has grown for measures at the EU level.

Over the past 10 years, real estate prices within the EU have risen by 60% and rents by more than 20%, leaving millions suffering from housing shortages.

Meanwhile, regarding the EU's move to regulate short-term rentals, an Airbnb spokesperson stated, "Europe's housing crisis requires structural solutions and should focus on increasing housing supply."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.