Short-term property rentals: these are the new EU rules

New EU rules on the collection and exchange of data relating to short-term rental property services.

according The new rulesMember States EU member states that require data from platforms should establish a national “digital single point of entry” for data transfer between online short-term rental platforms and public authorities..

Each house, apartment or room that is offered for rent for a limited number of days in a year will have a registration number so that the relevant authorities can know the identity of the “lessor”, that is, the person who wishes to allow the housing.

Online platforms shall make reasonable efforts to conduct regular spot checks to verify that owners have not submitted inaccurate owner declarations or invalid listing numbers. The processing of all information must comply with European data protection rules.

New rules: what are the benefits?

The new rules It will reduce bureaucracy and costs for property and platform owners, while providing authorities with the data they need to regulate activity. This will also create a level playing field with other players in the tourism sector (such as hotels, hostels or aparthotels) and help combat fraud.

Member states must provide the necessary information so that public authorities, electronic platforms, real estate owners and citizens can understand the laws and requirements related to the provision of short-term real estate rental services on their territory. It includes registration procedures and requirements for accessing and providing these services.

next steps

The general approach agreed today gives the Council Presidency a mandate to open negotiations with the European Parliament once it has decided on its position.

register

Renting apartments, houses or rooms for a short period has become a popular form of vacation for tourists and travelers. Online platforms have boosted the use of these services, which currently account for around a quarter of all tourist accommodation in the EU. Some Member States have implemented different registration systems that differ in scope, requirements (to be submitted by lessors or online platforms) and the level of administration through which registries are managed (national, regional or local).

On March 5, 2020, UNHCR signed a voluntary agreement with the largest online platforms for short-term property rental services on data sharing. This allowed Eurostat to collect data on this activity, but the agreement was not binding on the entire sector.

On 13 July 2022, a coalition of tourist cities known as the European Short-Term Rentals Alliance called on the Commission to propose legislation on data recording and sharing to better control the activities of platforms and landlords at the local level.

Finally, on November 7, 2022, the committee published its proposal on regulating real estate rental services. The proposal, for which the Council has today developed its general approach, is limited to creating an easy-to-use registration system with common provisions for establishing registration procedures and is not intended to regulate market access.

Statement

The Minister of Energy, Business and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Ebba Bosch, spoke on the subject of short-term leases for real estate.

“This regulation will equally benefit all players in the property rental sector in the short term: the registration process for landlords will be easy, there will be a single set of rules for information platforms to provide, travelers will have better protection against fraud and the authorities will be able to create regulations based on Accurate and reliable data.

Data from online platforms active in the short-term rental property market is not currently standardized due to the variety of rules and different methods adopted by member states. The Council supports the creation of a framework for data collection and sharing at EU level, with provisions that take better account of registration systems already in place in member states.