The European Holiday Homes Association (EHHA) expresses concerns about increased bureaucracy and legal uncertainty in an already complex regulatory framework governing short-term rentals, following the mention of an upcoming legislative proposal for short-term rentals by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union address.
Such a step, the Union points out, runs counter to the Commission’s simplification agenda, as Member States and short-term rental stakeholders are still in the process of implementing the recently adopted EU Regulation on the Collection and Sharing of Data (STR Regulation), which will enter into force in May 2026.
In particular, the EHHA stresses that instead of reducing complexity, a parallel initiative risks creating additional bureaucracy and legal uncertainty, contrary to Mario Draghi’s call for simpler and more predictable rules to strengthen European competitiveness.
It calls this announcement premature, as the public consultation on the Affordable Housing Plan has not yet been completed, while underlining that by moving forward with the Commission before the data that the STR Regulation will provide has been collected, a fair and informed debate is put at risk.
The Union underlines that the challenges related to short-term rentals are limited to a few crowded cities, while in rural areas or less visited areas, they are an important driver of growth, providing jobs and income to local communities facing population decline.
According to Eurostat data, Europeans are choosing short-term rentals with great frequency, with over 850 million overnight stays recorded in 2024.
The EHHA urges the Commission to follow a holistic approach, focusing on real housing affordability while ensuring freedom of travel for families. And he concludes: “We are ready for a constructive dialogue, but introducing new rules before the STR Regulation has been fully evaluated will only add complexity, undermine legal certainty and harm Europe’s tourism sector, as well as the incomes of thousands of citizens.”
