The European Commission has proposed new EU-wide rules intended to give local and national authorities clearer grounds to intervene in housing markets where affordability and availability are under the greatest strain.
The draft law, called the Affordable Housing Act, would create a common European framework for assessing housing measures that affect the EU single market, while leaving decisions on whether to act — and what to do — to national, regional and local authorities, the Commission announced on Wednesday.
More than half of people living in cities say housing is an immediate and urgent problem where they live, based on the latest Eurobarometer survey cited by the Commission.
Under the proposal, authorities would be able to identify “areas under housing stress” using a common methodology and introduce restrictions on certain non-primary uses of housing, provided the measures are targeted, necessary and proportionate.
Short-term rentals and second homes
If authorities want to restrict short-term rentals, they would need to show the activity has had a significant adverse effect on housing affordability or availability for at least three years, and that less restrictive measures would not be equally effective, the Commission said.
Local bodies would also have to apply and enforce the EU Short-Term Rental Regulation — including registration requirements and the removal or disabling of non-compliant listings — and use data collected under those rules where available.
The Commission stated that the framework would also cover measures related to second homes and long-term vacancy, including conditions that cannot apply retroactively, transitional arrangements for changes, and allowances for justified periods when a property is not occupied.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposal was intended to provide “more clarity and support to local authorities and communities”, adding that essential workers and students “cannot afford to live where they serve and study.”
The proposal is accompanied by a Commission recommendation encouraging steps to increase housing supply in pressured areas, including faster planning and permitting, renovation and repurposing buildings, and “Housing Acceleration Plans.”
The draft legislation will now be considered by the European Parliament and EU member states in the Council of the EU under the bloc’s ordinary legislative procedure.
