The European Commission, the EU's executive body, will propose rules to address the "huge problem" of short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, seeking to counter a "social crisis" for people struggling to afford housing, said the EU's first-ever Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen in an interview with The Guardian and other European newspapers, UNN reports.
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Dan Jørgensen stated that it was time for politicians in Brussels to take the issue of housing seriously or cede ground to anti-European populists who, he said, have no answers to the problem of affordable housing shortages.
"If we, as politicians, do not take this issue seriously and do not recognize that it is a social problem that requires action, then... anti-European populists will win," he said, adding that Brussels has so far "failed to cope" with some key elements of the housing crisis.
Jørgensen, a Danish social democrat, has been tasked with developing the EU's first-ever affordable housing plan, which is expected to be unveiled in December. He said the publication had been moved up from 2026, citing the urgency of the need to respond to a "social crisis."
EU announces housing plan to combat speculation and short-term rentals29.09.25, 15:57 • [views_3434]
Brussels has traditionally stayed out of housing policy, but Jørgensen insists it is an EU issue. "The upcoming housing plan will cover areas where [housing] is indeed a European competence, and where we have so far failed to deliver results... One such area is short-term rentals, where we really need more European rules," he said.
Short-term rentals, through Airbnb and other websites, have reportedly been booming in European cities in recent years and are blamed for driving up rents, displacing locals from historic centers, and turning residential areas into tourist zones. Jørgensen said short-term rentals are a "huge problem in many cities" but did not name specific websites or describe any proposals in detail.
Concerns about short-term rentals have arisen amid a general increase in rents and mortgages. According to the EU's statistical agency Eurostat, between 2010 and 2023, housing prices in the EU rose by 48% and rents by 22%, while inflation increased by 36%. Some tenants and potential buyers saw much sharper increases: over the same period, rents in Estonia rose by 211%, in Lithuania by 169%, and in Ireland by 98%.
By 2023, almost 9% of the EU population spent 40% or more of their income on housing, including 29% of the population in Greece, 15% in Denmark, and 13% in Germany.
Jørgensen, who is also tasked with reducing energy prices, said the EU's affordable housing plan would address the "financialization" of housing, as "it is clear that when housing becomes a commodity, something used for speculation without having to consider the rest of society, this, of course, potentially creates problems." He declined to discuss policy details but said the European Commission is studying how member states have sought to eliminate or reduce this problem, such as requirements for developers to build a certain percentage of affordable housing.
Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission has some radical ideas that could test EU legislation, the publication writes. Spain plans to introduce a 100% tax on the value of real estate purchased by residents of non-EU countries, while socialist MEPs want the European Commission to consider banning the purchase of real estate by foreigners.
According to Jørgensen, the European Commission is also considering better protection of tenants' rights, as well as easing state aid rules to make it easier for governments to subsidize or provide tax breaks to housing companies.
EU leaders are reportedly set to discuss housing at a summit next week, where they can outline their views on the future strategy. Diplomats cautiously welcomed the talks but stressed that any European perspective must take into account the differences in housing markets across the 27 member states.
So far, socialist MEPs have taken on most of the work, but some of their ideas are likely to prove controversial, such as the call for €300 billion in EU grants and loans for housing, and proposals to revise EU fiscal rules to encourage governments to spend more in this area, the publication notes.
Jørgensen declined to name any target spending figure – "we are talking about very, very large figures" – but said that in some cases, public funds would be needed to stimulate private capital. He noted that EU member states already have more opportunities to spend EU funds on housing than in the past, citing a mid-term review of the current budget that allocated €15 billion for housing compared to €7 billion.
He said it was time for the EU to look at housing "with fresh eyes," comparing it to the Covid pandemic, when a health emergency led to unprecedented joint procurement of vaccines. "So, as happened with the Covid crisis, when we find ourselves in new situations, we also need to reconsider the role of the European Union," he said.