To avoid housing pressure, the European Union is preparing legal backing to make it more difficult for citizens from other countries to buy holiday homes in the bloc’s territory. The measure comes from popular holiday destinations, such as Spain, which blame foreign investment in housing for rising property prices.

The Affordable Housing Act was considered by the European Parliament as something that would create a common framework across Europe to identify areas that have a pressured housing market, so that local authorities could identify their restriction, as long as they are “targeted, necessary and proportionate”.

This act may support measures by local authorities in countries like Spain, Portugal and France, including banning Airbnb, as has already happened in Barcelona. If countries embolden this kind of measure, it may become harder for British citizens to buy homes abroad, particularly in the European Union.

The EU’s backing means it could become more difficult for Britons to buy homes abroad. Dirk Gotink, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, mentioned that the legislation will have “serious consequences” for British people who want to buy a second home, for example, in Portugal.

However, the MP said the rules will mostly affect hotspots in Spain, Croatia, Italy and France, adding that this new legislation will not solve Europe’s housing crisis. The MP believes that the bloc does not need common legislation, as the housing crisis can be considered a national problem, and not European.

Borja Giménez Larraz, a Spanish MEP for the conservative Partido Popular, said he was “deeply concerned” by the restrictions the legislation would place on second homes.