The majority of Brussels residents want the new Regional Government to simplify the rules on occasional home rentals, such as Airbnbs or other tourist accommodation platforms, according to a new survey.
With the new Brussels Government taking office over a week ago, a new survey shows that 52% of Brussels residents demand new rules for occasional home‑sharing. A new opinion from the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) also called out local short-term rental (STR) rules as "disproportionate" and "lacking transparency."
"A majority of Brussels residents believe the rules are broken and should change. This position is vindicated by the Advocate General of the CJEU's critical opinion in the SmartFlats case," Clément Eulry, Country Director Airbnb Benelux & France, said in a statement to The Brussels Times.
SmartFlats was a Brussels‑based operator of STRs that challenged the Capital Region's requirement to obtain multiple authorisations (including a town‑planning compliance certificate) before renting out accommodations.
"When local families struggle with complex procedures that lack clear deadlines and legal safeguards, it is a sign that the system is not working as intended," Eulry said.
Clear, fair and fully aligned
For Airbnb, the CJEU's opinion raised serious doubts about the legality of the Brussels short-term rental rules, particularly with regard to their lack of clarity and transparency, as well as the absence of clear deadlines and remedies in parts of the procedure.
The Capital Region issued a short-term rental ordinance in 2024, aiming to update the framework. However, Eulry stressed that it did "not sufficiently address concerns around proportionality for occasional home-sharing, which accounts for the majority of listings on Airbnb."
"With a newly formed Brussels government, there is an opportunity to ensure the rules are clear, fair and fully aligned with European law," he added.
Therefore, Airbnb is calling on the new Brussels Government to review the current framework in light of both the survey results and the EU‑level legal analysis, ensuring that occasional home‑sharing by residents is treated proportionately and in line with European principles.
The Airbnb platform. Credit: Belga
The survey, commissioned by Airbnb, indicated that occasional letting is not viewed as a revenue model or commercial activity, but as a way to offset rising costs.
In Belgium, the median host earned around €5,700 in 2024, and in Brussels, around 75% of listings on Airbnb are rented for fewer than 120 nights per year.
Among residents who indicated that their income is insufficient to make ends meet and who are in the red every month, the figure of people wanting Brussels to "fix its broken rules" rises to 63%.
The Brussels Times tried contacting the office of Minister-President Boris Dilliès (MR), who is responsible for tourism, for comment, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
Becoming a showcase for tourists
Meanwhile, the City of Brussels (Brussels 1000) is trying hard to stop the proliferation of illegal or unregistered Airbnbs and other short-term rentals.
"We want to avoid what we see happening in other European cities at all costs," Rens Gijsen, spokesperson for Brussels City councillor for Urbanism Anaïs Maes, told The Brussels Times.
"We do not want Brussels to become a showcase for tourists, while no actual Brussels residents live in the city centre anymore," he added. "But with Airbnb and other tourist rentals, we see homes disappearing from the traditional rental market and property prices rising enormously."
In practice, the City of Brussels has a specific 'Airbnb monitoring of illegal tourist accommodation' unit, with staff fully dedicated to this task. Checks happen based on complaints from neighbours about noise or illegal works, based on existing files of operators, or by cross-checking data with the tax authorities.
While Gijsen confirmed that the local authorities see a demand for clearer rules at the regional level, he stressed that it goes beyond that.
"Change is definitely needed at the regional level," he said. "The issue of tourist accommodation affects municipal, regional and European competences. Living somewhere is different from staying as a tourist, and the rules should reflect that."
