EU drafts first-ever housing plan as prices surge, targets short-term rentals

The European Union will craft its first housing strategy, with proposals on short-term rentals and social housing, after steep rises in rents and home prices across the bloc.

“When housing becomes a commodity—used for speculation without regard for wider social needs—it inevitably creates problems,” Jorgensen said.

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The EU’s first housing commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, said the plan will cover areas clearly within EU competence, with a priority on regulating short-term rentals such as Airbnb and Booking.

He urged officials to treat the issue as a serious social problem, warning that inaction could fuel anti-EU populism.

The Commission aims to present a social housing plan by 2026.

“Short-term rentals are a huge problem in many cities,” Jorgensen said, arguing they contribute to rent increases, push residents out of city centers and turn neighborhoods into tourist zones.

Between 2010 and 2023, average rents in the EU rose 22%, home prices 48% and inflation 36%, according to figures cited in the debate.

Individual countries saw sharper rent spikes: 211% in Estonia, 169% in Lithuania and 98% in Ireland.

Nine percent of EU residents spend 40% of their disposable income on housing.

“When housing becomes a commodity—used for speculation without regard for wider social needs—it inevitably creates problems,” Jorgensen said. He did not disclose details of the Commission’s plan but said Brussels is studying how national measures have tried to ease the crisis.

Ideas under discussion range from facilitating state aid for housing to tax incentives for residential developers and operators. Some Social Democrat lawmakers want to ban property purchases by non-EU buyers.

The Commission is also weighing ways to make it easier for member states to subsidize housing and to grant tax relief to housing companies.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the EU’s first summit on housing, scheduled for next week, to shape a future strategy. Diplomats say any plan will need to reflect stark differences among national markets.

Social Democrats are pressing for €300 billion in EU grants and loans for housing and for fiscal rule changes to encourage national spending in the sector. Jorgensen declined to name figures that might feature in the Commission’s plan, saying only that the sums under discussion are “very large.”

(jh)

Source: Polskie Radio 24