Short-term rentals, EU constraints: cap on nights, limitations by area and protections for students
From Brussels first elements on the tightening coming in 2026: no ban but the aim is to protect areas under housing stress
There will be no bans. But measures to protect areas under particular housing stress, such as the historic centres of the most touristy cities. Introducing the possibility of limiting rents, with an annual ceiling of saleable nights or with the obligation to combine this mode of renting with other channels, considered more deserving of protection, such as that to students.
The year that has just begun will be the year of the European Commission's regulatory proposal on short-term rentals: this is foreseen by the Brussels Housing Plan, which has set the timetable for the formal presentation of this act by the end of 2026. But Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner in charge of Energy and Housing, gave the first details on the upcoming novelties at a hearing in the EU Parliament, at the Hous committee chaired by Italian Irene Tinagli.
The aim of the legislation will be to limit the negative impacts of short rentals. "We cannot stand idly by while residents are squeezed out of the housing market in the places where they were born or where they would like to live," said Jørgensen. That is why a proposal for a law will arrive this year, which - the EU executive emphasises - will not aim to impose bans or ban rentals of less than 30 days. Certainly, however, there will be limitations, some of them very heavy.
The first idea is to define areas under housing stress, since in some neighbourhoods (according to Brussels figures) these rentals can reach up to 20% of the offer. Therefore, the rules will not have to be the same throughout the territory, but they will have to put under the lens the areas that suffer the negative impact of short rentals in a particular way: obviously, in the lead are the historical centres of big cities. In Italy, the best known cases are, among others, those of Florence, Venice, Naples, Rome and Milan. Public administrations (in particular, municipalities), on the basis of this legislation, will be authorised to activate measures to limit the negative impact of tourist rentals, while maintaining the benefits.
He gave some examples of what these measures could be. A maximum number of rentable nights per year could be introduced. Or a limitation of short rentals to the summer could be introduced, obliging those who put those properties on the market to host students for the rest of the year. In addition, a clearer differentiation will be introduced between professional hosts and those who, instead, offer these services in a non-professional way, to supplement their income: a way to avoid unfair competition with those who offer traditional accommodation services, such as hoteliers, while respecting stricter rules, for example on safety and consumer protection. In the latter direction, moreover, are also the innovations introduced as of 2026 by the Budget Law.
