Brussels to Target STRs in EU’s Affordable Housing Plan

12/15/2025

The European Commission is set to unveil its first-ever Affordable Housing Plan to address soaring home prices across the EU. The package will give local authorities tools to curb short-term rentals perceived as worsening housing shortages, while stopping short of outright bans. “I’m not on the side of the people who call for banning short-term rentals,” said European Commissioner for Housing Dan Jørgensen in an interview, adding that such platforms have offered travelers the ability to experience Europe differently, and provided some families with a needed source of income. But the model has grown at a rate “no one could have imagined, with short-term rentals accounting for 20% of homes in some very stressed areas,” Jørgensen said. It has turned into a “money machine instead of what it was intended to.”

Politico Europe (12/15/25) Aitor Hernández-Morales