The European Commission is developing a new legislative framework that will allow national, regional, and municipal authorities to restrict short-term housing rentals in areas facing particularly sharp price increases and a shortage of apartments for permanent residents.
The initiative will be part of the future European Affordable Housing Act, which the European Commission plans to present in 2026. The document is intended to help authorities identify areas under housing pressure based on publicly available statistical data and take measures commensurate with the scale of the problem.
This does not mean a blanket ban on Airbnb, Booking.com, or other services across the entire European Union. The European Commission intends to create a legal framework within which cities and regions can independently regulate short-term rentals without violating the rules of the single European market.
In particular, municipalities should be given greater legal certainty when imposing restrictions in areas where tourist rentals reduce the housing supply for local residents. Possible measures will be determined taking into account the local situation, the interests of the tourism sector, and the principle of proportionality.
During the consultations, representatives of cities and regions called on the European Commission to develop a list of tools compatible with EU legislation. They also emphasized the need to take into account the differences between major tourist centers, small towns, and rural areas.
The drafting of the Affordable Housing Act is proceeding in parallel with the implementation of previously approved EU rules on the collection of information regarding short-term rentals. EU Regulation No. 2024/1028 will take effect on May 20, 2026. It provides for the creation of digital registration systems for landlords and the exchange of data between platforms and government agencies.
In countries that implement such registration, property owners must obtain a unique property number and include it in their listings. Online platforms are required to display and verify these numbers, conduct random checks, and remove listings at the request of authorities if they do not comply with established rules.
Platforms must also submit monthly data on the number of guests and booked nights via a single national digital gateway. This will allow municipalities to assess the actual scale of short-term rentals and make data-driven decisions.
However, the current regulation primarily governs registration and the exchange of information. It does not, in and of itself, establish EU-wide limits on the number of apartments available for rent or the permitted number of nights.
According to the European Commission, short-term rentals already account for about a quarter of all tourist accommodation supply in the EU.
In 2025, 951.6 million guest nights were booked through Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and other major online platforms. Compared to 2024, this figure increased by 11.4%.
The European Commission acknowledges that this market generates income for property owners, expands options for tourists, and supports local businesses. At the same time, the high concentration of short-term rentals in historic centers and popular resorts may reduce the supply of apartments for permanent residence and contribute to rising prices.
According to the European Affordable Housing Plan, the number of short-term rental bookings through the largest platforms increased by more than 90% between 2018 and 2024. Professional operators account for more than 45% of listings, even though they represent a minority of property owners.
Once the new legislation is adopted, the rules will depend not only on the country but also on the situation in a specific city or district. In tourist destinations with a housing shortage, local authorities will potentially be able to impose stricter requirements regarding registration, licensing, and rental duration. In regions where there is a shortage of tourist accommodations and short-term rentals support the local economy, restrictions may be significantly fewer.
Airbnb is transitioning hosts to a new service fee model: instead of the previous structure, under which hosts typically paid about 3% and guests paid a separate service fee, the platform is introducing a single commission for hosts.
Now, most hosts will pay 15.5% of the booking price. Airbnb explains this as a move to make pricing more transparent: guests will see the total cost without a separate service fee on top.
For hosts, this means they’ll need to adjust their prices. If they don’t change their rates, their net payout will decrease. According to Airbnb’s example, for a $100 booking, a host will receive $84.50 after the commission is deducted.
The transition is taking place in phases. For hosts outside the European Economic Area, the deadline for adjusting prices is September 15; for hosts within the EEA, it is October 13.
For the short-term rental market, this will increase pressure on property owners and management companies: they will have to recalculate rates, discounts, and financial models.
Demand for short-term housing rentals in the EU through online platforms continued to grow in early 2026. From January through March, guests spent 144.3 million nights in short-term accommodations booked through Airbnb, Booking, or Expedia. This is 9.7% more than in the first quarter of 2025 and 16.6% higher than in the first quarter of 2024, Eurostat reported on July 2.
Malta showed the fastest growth—up 30.5% year-over-year. It was followed by Slovenia—up 24.7%, Slovakia—up 23.5%, and Cyprus—up 22.3%. Double-digit growth was also recorded in Finland, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Croatia, Greece, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Among the EU’s largest tourism markets, all seven of the most-visited countries also showed growth. Germany saw a 14.9% increase, Italy 14.7%, Poland 11.9%, France 8.1%, Spain 6.5%, Portugal 4.9%, and Austria 4%. This means that the market is growing not only in small countries with a low baseline but also in major tourism economies.
Eurostat clarifies that these figures specifically refer to guest nights in short-term accommodations booked through platforms, rather than hotels and campgrounds. For example, if a family of four stays in an apartment for three nights, this counts as 12 guest nights. The data is published as experimental statistics and is based on information that the platforms report directly to Eurostat.
Regional statistics are published with a delay. According to data for the fourth quarter of 2025, the most popular regions for short-term rentals through these platforms were Andalusia in Spain—9.9 million nights, the Canary Islands—8.2 million, and Île-de-France in France—7.2 million. Only regions from three countries—Spain, France, and Italy—made it into the top ten.
For investors, these statistics mean that focusing solely on overall market growth is no longer sufficient. It is necessary to take into account the specific country, city, seasonality, local restrictions on Airbnb and Booking, taxes, registration rules, and competition from hotels. In Europe, short-term rentals continue to grow, but are becoming an increasingly regulated and professional business.
According to Serbian Economist, Albania is stepping up tax oversight of the short-term rental market, which has become one of the country’s fastest-growing segments of the tourism real estate sector in recent years. The tax administration has launched a sectoral plan for the tourism sector through 2026, under which the activity of property owners on Airbnb, Booking.com, and other platforms will be cross-checked against tax returns.
In essence, Albania is becoming one of the first countries in Europe to transition tax oversight of short-term rentals via digital platforms to an automated format using artificial intelligence. This makes the country a regional test case for stricter control over revenue from tourism real estate.
The main tool of the new control system will be an AI-based automated monitoring system. Algorithms will scan the Albanian segments of Airbnb and Booking on a weekly basis, analyzing nightly rates, price trends, actual occupancy rates, booking calendars, as well as the number and dates of guest reviews.
Private homeowners renting out one or more apartments through Airbnb and Booking are not required to register as sole proprietors, but must file an annual individual DIVA tax return and pay income tax at a rate of 15%. The tax is calculated on net income after deducting the platform’s commission. Separate clarifications regarding new obligations for short-term rentals starting in 2026 also highlight the use of DIVA as a digital system for reporting individual income.
The authorities are paying special attention to VAT. In Albania’s tourism sector, a reduced rate of 6% applies instead of the standard 20%, but it may only be applied by properties that have passed a physical inspection and received an official classification certificate from the Ministry of Tourism. If an owner applies the 6% rate without such a certificate, the tax authority may retroactively assess VAT at the full 20% rate, along with fines and penalties.
Another requirement concerns cashless payments. By May 30, 2026, all accommodation facilities in Albania, including hotels, hostels, campgrounds, and certified guesthouses, must install physical POS terminals to accept payments. At the same time, the limit on cash transactions between commercial entities has been reduced from 150,000 to 100,000 lek.
For the real estate market, this marks the end of a period of lax oversight of income from short-term rentals. In recent years, Albania has experienced an investment boom in resort real estate, particularly along the coast, where buyers have relied on income from tourist rentals.
But now, the profitability of such properties will increasingly depend not only on occupancy and price, but also on the owner’s tax compliance.
For foreign investors, the new rules mean they must consider the property’s tax model in advance.
The Albanian model reflects a broader trend in the region. Montenegro is also tightening control over payments and taxes in the real estate and tourism sectors, but Albania is taking the next step—using digital monitoring and AI to compare actual activity on platforms with tax reporting.
Revenues for Airbnb hosts in Albania reached a record €40 million in 2024, confirming the continued growth of the short-term rental market in the country. This was reported by the Albanian General Directorate of Taxes, whose data is cited by Albanian media.
According to the tax administration, from January to December 2024, more than 8,472 individuals and companies operated through the Airbnb platform in Albania, and the total volume of bookings amounted to 3.816 billion lek, equivalent to approximately 40 million euros. Commissions paid to the platform itself amounted to 167.6 million lek, or about 1.7 million euros.
Against this backdrop, tax authorities reminded property owners of the need to declare their income through the DIVA system. A 15% tax rate applies to such income, and the deadline for filing the declaration is set for March 31, 2026. The tax service separately emphasized that it already has data on bookings and income received directly from Airbnb, so failure to declare could lead to audits and fines.
The growth in Airbnb income reflects a broader trend of residential real estate in Albania becoming an investment asset, particularly in coastal cities and tourist destinations. Against this backdrop, the short-term rental market is becoming an increasingly significant part of the country’s tourism economy and, at the same time, the subject of heightened tax scrutiny.
The Madrid High Court rejected Airbnb’s request to suspend payment of a €64 million fine imposed by the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs and ordered the company to pay the fine while the case is pending. This was reported by Spanish media, and the move is part of a broader campaign by Spanish authorities to tighten control over the short-term rental market.
According to a report by El País, the fine was imposed in December 2025 and is equivalent to approximately six times the amount of “illegally obtained profits” that, according to Spanish authorities, Airbnb received as a result of its controversial advertising practices. The court ruling, published on March 23, specifically concerns the denial of a stay of proceedings, meaning it does not resolve the dispute on its merits but prevents the company from postponing payment until a final verdict.
Spanish authorities justified the sanction based on three main violations. These include the publication of listings for tourist accommodations without the required license number, the use of false or incorrect registration data, and misleading information regarding the legal status of landlords. All of this was classified in Madrid as forms of unfair or misleading advertising.
Airbnb, in turn, stated that the court’s decision is procedural in nature and does not address the substance of the dispute, and that the company itself considers the fine to be contrary to Spanish and European law. The company has already appealed the sanction and is continuing its legal defense.
The case is unfolding against the backdrop of a general tightening of Spain’s policies regarding short-term rentals. According to Reuters, in the summer of 2025, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced that it had secured the removal of 65,000 Airbnb listings deemed to be in violation of the rules, and subsequently identified nearly 55,000 more listings lacking the required license numbers. Authorities link this campaign to efforts to ease the pressure of tourist rentals on the housing market and curb rising rent rates for local residents.
Spain as a whole has been tightening restrictions on short-term rentals over the past two years. In particular, in March 2025, one of the country’s highest courts upheld Barcelona’s plan to completely phase out short-term rental licensing by 2028. This underscores that Airbnb’s conflict with regulators is part of a broader shift in Spanish housing policy toward restricting short-term rentals in overheated tourist areas.
For the real estate market and the tourism sector, this means an increase in regulatory risks for short-term rental platforms in Spain.
For the platforms themselves, the key issue is no longer just the scale of the business, but also the ability to quickly adapt to new requirements regarding licensing, transparency of listings, and disclosure of information about property owners.
