Short-term rentals have moved from the margins of urban policy to its centre. Over the past decade, cities across Europe have introduced rules to monitor, limit or shape the practice, and the European Union has now added a common framework for data. The details vary enormously from place to place, but the direction of travel is clear: more transparency, more registration and, in many cities, tighter limits.
Why cities are acting
The growth of online platforms made it easy for residents and investors alike to let homes to visitors by the night. For many households, this has provided useful extra income, and for travellers, more choice. Cities, however, have raised several concerns.
The first is housing. In popular districts, local authorities worry that homes let to visitors all year round are removed from the long-term rental market, adding to pressure on rents. The second is neighbourhood life: noise, rubbish, wear on shared buildings and the changing character of residential streets. The third is fairness and tax: hotels face licensing, safety and tax obligations, and authorities want short-term rentals to operate on a comparable footing. Finally, many cities simply lacked reliable data on how many properties were being let, by whom and for how long.
The main tools
Although each city designs its own rules, a handful of instruments recur across Europe.
Registration. The most widespread measure is a requirement to register a property, or obtain a permit or licence, before letting it to short-term guests. Registration gives authorities a picture of the market and a means of enforcing other rules.
Caps on nights. Some cities limit the number of nights per year that an entire home can be let to visitors, often with the aim of allowing residents to let their home while they are away without enabling permanent tourist use. Several cities have adjusted these caps over time, in some cases tightening them for particular neighbourhoods.
Zoning and licence limits. Others restrict where short-term rentals are permitted, for example by limiting them in central districts, or cap the total number of licences available. Some have frozen new licences altogether in areas under pressure.
Primary-residence rules. A common distinction is drawn between residents occasionally letting the home they live in and properties dedicated entirely to short-term letting. The former is generally treated more leniently.
Change-of-use and building rules. Converting a residential property into tourist accommodation may require planning permission, and co-ownership or building regulations can impose their own restrictions.
Safety and tax obligations. Many jurisdictions require fire-safety measures, guest registration with the authorities and the collection of tourist taxes.
The EU steps in on data
For years, one of the biggest obstacles to enforcement was access to information. Platforms held the data on listings and bookings, while authorities struggled to link listings to specific properties and hosts.
The EU responded with Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services, which has applied since 20 May 2026. It does not decide whether short-term rentals should be allowed or how many there should be; those choices remain with national, regional and local authorities. Instead, it harmonises how registration works where authorities choose to require it, and how data flows between platforms and the public sector.
In broad terms, the regulation provides that where a registration scheme applies, hosts receive a registration number and platforms must display it on listings. Platforms must also make reasonable efforts to check, including through random checks, that registration numbers are valid, and share data on activity with the competent authorities through a single digital entry point in each member state. Authorities can request the removal of listings that do not comply with the registration rules.
The practical effect is to give cities across the EU a common, more reliable basis for enforcing whatever local rules they adopt.
What it means for hosts and owners
For anyone letting property in Europe, the consequence of these trends is that compliance can no longer be an afterthought. Before listing a property, owners should establish:
- whether short-term letting is permitted at the address, under both public rules and any building or co-ownership regulations;
- whether registration, a permit or a licence is required, and how to obtain it;
- whether there are limits on nights, seasons or the type of property;
- which taxes and guest-registration obligations apply;
- whether insurance covers short-term letting.
Because rules change, sometimes at short notice and sometimes by neighbourhood, these checks need to be repeated over time rather than carried out once. Professional managers typically monitor regulatory developments in the cities where they operate, but owners remain responsible for ensuring their property complies.
A market that is maturing
It is tempting to read the regulatory trend simply as a crackdown. In many cities, it is better understood as a market maturing. Clear registration, consistent data and predictable rules make it easier for responsible hosts to operate with confidence, and easier for authorities to focus enforcement on those who ignore the rules.
The balance each city strikes will continue to differ. Some will prioritise housing and limit short-term rentals tightly; others will rely mainly on registration and taxation. What appears settled is that the era of largely unregulated short-term letting in European cities has come to an end.
