Airbnb rentals in some of Europe’s most popular destinations could face tighter restrictions under a European Commission proposal unveiled Wednesday that would give cities stronger legal powers to tackle housing shortages.
The initiative has drawn pushback from Airbnb, which rejects the suggestion that short-term rentals are the main driver of Europe’s housing crisis. The company argues that increasing the supply of homes and addressing structural problems in the housing market should take priority.
Airbnb rejects blame for housing crisis as EU moves to tighten rules on short-term rentals
(Photo: Diego Thomazini / Shutterstock.com)
The proposal seeks to strengthen local authorities’ ability to restrict vacation rentals and defend those restrictions against legal challenges. Cities including Paris, Barcelona and Venice have already imposed limits, but some measures have faced opposition and appeals from rental platforms.
Under the plan, cities could designate areas as being under “housing market pressure,” using criteria that include property prices relative to residents’ incomes. Within those areas, authorities could limit short-term rentals and restrict purchases of properties intended to be converted into vacation accommodation.
The proposal does not call for a blanket ban. Restrictions would have to be supported by data, proportionate and confined to areas with housing shortages. People who occasionally rent out their primary residence for short periods are not expected to fall within its scope.
The figures show how unevenly short-term rentals are distributed across Europe. They account for about 1.2% of the continent’s housing stock, according to European data, but the commission says their share can reach 20% in particularly popular tourist destinations.
Meanwhile, EU house prices have risen roughly 60% since 2010, while rents have increased nearly 30%.
Demand for vacation rentals remains substantial. Guests spent nearly 952 million nights in EU short-term accommodation booked through platforms including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia in 2025, according to Eurostat, the bloc’s statistics office.
Paris alone recorded 26.3 million such overnight stays, followed by Rome with 18.8 million and Barcelona with 13.2 million, underscoring the scale of the market in some of Europe’s busiest tourist destinations.
For now, the proposal is not law. It must still undergo negotiations and receive approval from the European Parliament and EU member states before it can take effect.