This will enable municipal governments to better enforce their local rules for temporary (vacation) rentals, ensuring more homes remain permanently available for residents. As a result, guests and landlords will no longer be able to evade local tourist taxes.
Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak (GreenLeft) was the lead negotiator on this law: “Cities are struggling with a proliferation of illegal vacation rentals. This puts pressure on the livability and affordability of cities across Europe. “Occasionally renting out an empty room is, of course, fine. However, it is mainly investors who have dominated until now.”
The new law requires platforms to share monthly data on how many nights a house or apartment has been rented and to how many people. Until now, rental platforms have refused to share data, making local rules difficult to enforce.
A city like Amsterdam is eagerly awaiting this law. In Amsterdam, 72% of the Airbnb listings are entire homes, which are rented out for an average of 171 nights and generate 32,000 euros. This type of rental is no longer a side income but a business model.
Early next year, this agreement will be ratified with a vote in the European Parliament. Two years later, the new rules will come into effect.