EU moves to curb Airbnb‑style rentals in bid to ease housing stress

The European Commission unveiled its Affordable Housing Package on Wednesday (9 September), in an attempt to curb the rise in short-term rental properties in tourist cities and increase access to affordable housing. Some 40 percent of Europeans see affordable housing as a big problem where they live, a figure rising to half of the population in cities, according to a June 2025 Eurobarometer survey. “Lack of affordable housing is a matter of concern for so many of our European citizens. Essential workers and students cannot afford to live where they serve and study,” said EU commisison president Urusla von der Leyen. Under her housing plans, local authorities in “areas under housing stress” can justify restricting the purchase of a house being used for short-term rentals like Airbnb. The EU cannot directly intervene in the housing policy of member states. But it can harmonise rules that affect the internal market. I welcome the @EU_Commission's publication today of the Affordable Housing Act.The availability of affordable housing is one of the most pressing, concrete issues for millions of Europeans across our continent.This Act aims to create a common European framework to protect…— António Costa (@eucopresident) September 9, 2026 Paris, Barcelona and Lisbon have different restrictions on tourist rentals. “[But] This has led to legal uncertainty, different approaches and repeated litigation,” the commission said. It is estimated that short-term rentals activity nearly doubled, with an exponential growth of 93 percent across the four major platforms between 2018 and 2024. In Madrid, there are around 40 short-term rentals for every 100 long-term rental homes. “This creates pressures on both the cost and availability of housing,” the commission said. One in seven municipalities in Europe are unaffordable for the average nurse, according to an investigation by Correctiv.