EU is preparing new rules for short-term rentals: professional landlords under greater pressure
The European Commission is preparing a legal framework that would give cities and states more scope to restrict short-term rentals in areas with a severe housing availability problem. The focus could be on professional operators with a larger number of properties, while a general ban on Airbnb is not being discussed.
The European debate on short-term rentals is entering a new phase. Following the entry into force in May 2026 of new EU rules on the collection and sharing of data with platforms, the European Commission is preparing Affordable Housing Act, which aims to more precisely define what cities and states are allowed to do when tourist rentals begin to seriously pressure the local housing market.
Restrictions only in areas under housing pressure
According to a document seen by Euronews has had insight, the new rules would not mean a single European ban on Airbnb. Interventions would be linked to areas where there is evidence that housing prices and availability have come under severe pressure.
The Commission is already confirming on its official website that short-term rentals should be one of the important elements of the Affordable Housing Act. The aim is to empower local authorities with measures tailored to their market, while preserving the benefits that tourist accommodation brings to destinations.
The difference between hosts and professional operators
The most interesting part of the proposal relates to distinguishing the occasional renting out of one's own home from commercial operators managing multiple apartments. It is precisely the second group that could be more exposed to local restrictions.
According to Euronews, short-term rentals account for around 1.2 per cent of the total EU housing stock, but in certain tourist hotspots their share can reach about 20 per cent. Such disparities explain why Brussels is considering a local rather than a universal solution.
Croatia has already started moving in that direction
For Croatia, such an approach is not entirely new. Regulations already enable local authorities to manage accommodation capacities, while for short-term apartment rentals in buildings, the obligation of co-owner consent has been introduced. Croatia is additionally preparing a registration number system for accommodation advertised via digital platforms.
For destinations such as Split, Dubrovnik or other cities experiencing heavy pressure from tourist accommodation, the new European framework could therefore above all bring a firmer legal basis for targeted local measures. For platforms and professional apartment managers, this is a signal that short-term rental regulation in the EU is increasingly shifting from the issue of transparency to the issue of market structure itself.
