The European Parliament adopted the so-called "Airbnb law" on Thursday, voting in favour of new rules that require short-term rental platforms to share more data and allow local authorities to enforce the rules in place.
Studies have shown that Airbnb is linked to higher neighbourhood rents: there is a direct correlation between the number of properties on the platform and prices paid by local tenants – an issue that many cities, including Brussels, have been trying to combat in recent years.
"Occasional renting out of rooms went from being a way for people to make some extra cash to a full-blown business model driven by investors," said MEP and rapporteur on the file Kim van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA) in a press release.
"By taking houses off the market and driving up prices, short-term rentals have a negative impact on affordable housing in big cities and touristic areas, and put the liveability of neighbourhoods under pressure," she added.
With this regulation, the collection and access to data on short-term rental accommodation services will be improved. The deal includes harmonising registration requirements for hosts, and clarifies rules to ensure registration numbers are displayed and checked.
Additionally, the platforms will be obliged to combat illegal rentals by performing random checks, and will streamline data-sharing between online platforms and public authorities.
A big step
"Some cities have already introduced rules to address this issue, but platforms have been refusing to share data with authorities," Van Sparrentak said. "This regulation lays the foundation for the collection and access to such data to be improved, will empower cities all over Europe to enforce their local rules and contribute to better access to affordable housing."
She called the ruling "a big step for more liveable cities," adding that "we cannot let online platforms turn our cities into empty shells solely destined for corporate profit."
