New rules being presented in Brussels on 9 September will set out common criteria for identifying areas under serious housing pressure and determining when short-term rentals are contributing to the problem.

The proposal could be particularly relevant to Portugal, where the relationship between local accommodation, known as alojamento local (AL), tourism and housing has become a contentious issue in Lisbon and other high-demand areas.

It does not mean an EU-wide ban on Airbnb-style rentals is coming. Nor will Brussels require Portugal or individual councils to impose new restrictions.

Instead, the idea is to give local and national authorities a clearer legal basis for taking action where they can show that short-term rentals are making an existing housing problem worse.

When can restrictions be introduced?

Under the plans reported ahead of the 9 September presentation, authorities would first need to establish that an area is experiencing housing pressure.

That assessment could take into account factors such as house prices compared with household incomes, how that relationship has changed over time, population trends and the local balance between housing supply and demand.

Even then, the presence of a housing problem would not automatically justify restrictions on holiday rentals.

Authorities would also need evidence that the growth of short-term accommodation was contributing to higher prices or reducing the number of homes available to residents. Any measures introduced would need to be justified and proportionate to the local situation.

The proposal also makes a distinction between someone’s main home and properties being operated as short-term tourist accommodation.

That matters because the Commission has acknowledged that renting out a room or occasionally letting a primary residence can provide useful additional income, while large concentrations of properties used commercially for short stays can have a different effect on local housing.

No blanket ban on local accommodation

Housing remains primarily the responsibility of national, regional and local governments, and Brussels is not proposing to take those decisions away from them.

What it wants is a common set of rules for deciding when intervention is reasonable and compatible with EU law.

The Commission has also made clear that restricting short-term rentals alone will not solve Europe’s housing shortage.

Measures in heavily pressured areas would need to sit alongside efforts to build more homes, renovate existing properties and make planning and licensing less cumbersome. The Commission estimates that the EU needs more than two million new homes a year to meet current demand.

There is already a separate EU regulation governing transparency in the short-term rental market. In force since 20 May, it requires greater sharing of data from hosts and online platforms, giving public authorities a clearer picture of what is happening in their local rental markets. Short-term accommodation now represents around a quarter of tourist accommodation across the EU.

What could it mean for Portugal?

Nothing changes immediately for Portuguese property owners or AL operators.

The proposal does not introduce new restrictions specifically for Lisbon, the Algarve or anywhere else in Portugal. Instead, it could eventually make it easier for Portuguese authorities to defend targeted restrictions where they can demonstrate a genuine link between short-term accommodation and housing pressure.

The proposal will also have to make its way through the EU legislative process, involving the European Parliament and member states, before becoming law.