Short-term rental providers such as Airbnb will have to share more data with European authorities in the future. The EU wants to make it easier for cities to take action against illegal rentals.
Large rental platforms such as Airbnb and Booking will have to share more data with the authorities in the future. This will enable cities to take better action against illegal offers on the platforms, as the European Parliament and the EU states announced.
Negotiators from the two institutions agreed last night on the new rules, which are to be applied after a transition period of two years. Parliament and EU states still have to officially approve the project, but this is considered a formality.
Increasing housing shortage
Many major cities in Europe are suffering from a housing shortage, while the number of short-term rentals is increasing. Because landlords can make more money with short-term rentals than with long-term tenants. However, if numerous apartments are available for tourists, there is a lack of living space for locals.
Cities like Amsterdam, Berlin or Dublin therefore limit how long an apartment can be rented out to tourists. The new data should now make it easier to control such requirements.
Turning point for the industry?
“The new law obliges the platforms, among other things, to exchange data every month about how many nights a house or apartment was rented and to how many people,” said the chairwoman of the Internal Market Committee in the EU Parliament, Anna Cavazzini. Until now, rental platforms have regularly refused to pass on data, said the Green politician. This made it difficult to enforce local regulations.
In a statement distributed before the end of the negotiations, Airbnb welcomed the project and spoke of a turning point for the entire industry. “The new rules can serve as a blueprint for regulating short-term rentals worldwide,” it said. They provided platforms and authorities with clear guidance on important issues – such as how they could share data and implement local regulations.