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The European Commission has introduced a new law that would make it easier for cities to restrict Airbnb and other short-term holiday lets, as part of a wider effort to tackle Europe’s housing crisis. For the Netherlands, where finding an affordable long-term home is one of the defining struggles of daily life, it could give cities another tool in a fight they are already waging.
What is being proposed
On Wednesday, 9 September, the Commission presented its Affordable Housing Act, described by Commission vice-president Teresa Ribera as a response to a “terrible crisis”. “When the market fails to deliver something as fundamental as an affordable home, public authorities have a responsibility to act,” she said.
The law would give local authorities greater power to regulate short-term lets, and even to restrict the purchase of properties to be used as holiday rentals, in areas judged to be “under housing stress”. It would introduce a common EU method for identifying such areas, based on parameters such as the ratio between local house prices and incomes, along with shared rules on how any restrictions must be justified.
Before bringing in restrictions, a city would have to demonstrate that short-term rentals have had a significant negative effect on housing affordability or availability over at least the previous three years. Any measure would also have to be non-discriminatory, proportionate and limited in time, to a maximum of five years, and the law would not affect people who occasionally rent out their own primary residence.
Why the EU is acting now
More and more people are renting out secondary residences as holiday lets. According to the Commission, short-term rental activity nearly doubled between 2018 and 2024, rising 93 percent across four major platforms. In cities from Barcelona and Lisbon to Amsterdam, residents have increasingly blamed such rentals for taking homes off the long-term market and pushing up prices.
The law aims to provide legal certainty. Cities including Paris, Barcelona and Berlin have tried to crack down on short-term rentals before, only to face repeated legal challenges from rental and tourism companies, resulting in what the Commission called a patchwork of different approaches and litigation. Because the EU cannot directly set the housing policy of member states, the Act is designed to give cities firmer legal footing to act without falling foul of EU single-market rules, rather than to impose measures from Brussels.
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What it means for the Netherlands
The Netherlands already has some restrictions in place. Amsterdam, for instance, caps holiday rentals of a home at 30 nights a year and requires registration, and other Dutch cities have their own rules. The new law would not undo already existing measures like these.
The Act would, instead, strengthen the power of Dutch cities that want to go further, giving them a clear, EU-backed basis for tighter limits in neighbourhoods where holiday lets are pushing out residents. For a country in a severe housing shortage, where people across Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague struggle to find an affordable long-term contract while holiday lets keep expanding, this decision would help reverse the effects bit by bit.
A tool, not a cure
A law like this is not without its limitations. The Commission acknowledges that short-term rentals are not the only cause of Europe’s housing crisis. It stems from a structural shortage of homes, driven by high construction costs, expensive land, planning restrictions and slow permit processes. Restricting holiday lets can ease pressure in already-strained markets, but it cannot, on its own, fix the underlying problem.
An Airbnb spokesperson said Europe’s housing crisis “needs structural solutions”, and that the focus should be on increasing the supply of homes. A technology industry group went further, arguing that in most cities the evidence does not support blaming short-term rentals for housing stress, and noting that Lisbon recently rolled back some of the curbs it had imposed. Critics also point out that some cities saw rents or hotel prices rise even after making the rules stricter.
What happens next
The Affordable Housing Act is a proposal, and not yet a law. It will now go through the EU’s standard legislative process, including readings in the European Parliament, during which the details may change, before a vote. If adopted, it would take effect 20 days later, and be reviewed after five years.