The European Commission will unveil new rules aimed at tackling the “huge problem” of short-term holiday rentals and soaring housing costs across the continent, as part of its first-ever affordable housing plan.
Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s newly appointed housing commissioner, said the measures would focus on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, which have been blamed for driving up rents and pricing local residents out of major cities.
He told The Guardian that unless the EU acted, populist parties could exploit growing public anger over housing affordability.
“If we don’t take this problem seriously and acknowledge that it needs action, then the anti-EU populists will win,” said Mr Jørgensen, a Danish Social Democrat.
“So far, Brussels has failed to deliver on some of the key elements of the housing crisis.”
Traditionally, housing has fallen outside the EU’s remit, but Mr Jørgensen argued the issue has reached a continental scale.
“The upcoming housing plan will cover areas where it is indeed very clear that [housing] is a European competence,” he said.
“One of those areas is short-term rentals, where we do need more European rules.”
Short-term lettings have surged across Europe’s cities, transforming residential districts into tourist hubs.
The trend has been widely criticised for accelerating gentrification and squeezing long-term renters out of historic centres in cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon, and Marseille.
Between 2010 and 2023, average house prices in the EU rose by 48% and rents by 22%, while inflation increased by 36%, according to Eurostat.
Some countries saw extreme spikes, with rents up by 211% in Estonia, 169% in Lithuania, and 98% in Ireland.
By 2023, nearly 9% of EU citizens were spending 40% or more of their disposable income on housing, including 29% in Greece.
The affordable housing plan, due for publication in December, will also seek to address what Mr Jørgensen called the “financialisation” of housing – where property becomes a vehicle for speculation rather than shelter.
“It is clear that when housing becomes a commodity, something that is used for speculation with no need to take into consideration the rest of society, that causes problems,” he said.
The European Commission is also considering measures to strengthen tenants’ rights and ease state-aid rules so governments can more easily support affordable housing projects.
Spain’s proposal for a 100% tax on property purchases by non-EU residents, and socialist MEPs’ calls for a possible ban on foreign real estate purchases, may test the limits of EU law.
