The European Commission is promoting a legal initiative on short-term rentals at a pan-European level, in order to address the housing crisis plaguing many EU countries. This is one of the three axes of measures and interventions that the Commission seems to be preparing in the coming period.

According to what Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week, the other two axes of action will be the revision of state aid rules, in order to make housing support measures possible, and the provision of facilities for the construction of new housing and student residences.

“This year, after receiving your views, we will present the first European Affordable Housing Plan. To make housing more affordable, more sustainable and of better quality. It will be a European effort, based on local realities. We need a radical overhaul of the way we deal with this issue,” von der Leyen emphasized.

Specifically regarding the short-term rental segment, market sources report that, among other things, an effort will be made to separate professionals and individuals, so as not to confuse the investment exploitation of real estate by companies with the income supplement of a private owner who rents out a room or their secondary residence for a few weeks a year. Of course, this has already been done in Greece since the beginning of 2024, as those who exploit three or more properties are required to establish a company and have different tax treatment.

However, as noted by real estate market executives who also have a European role, such as Kosmas Theodoridis, president of the European Federation of Real Estate Associations and secretary general of the Athens-Attica Real Estate Association, the housing problem not only in Greece, but also in many countries abroad, is due to the large number of vacant homes and reduced construction activity.

A recent study by the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) pointed out that the main cause of high rents is the huge volume of closed and idle housing, which account for 34.5% of all houses, and not the activity of short-term rentals, which ultimately only concerns 3% of the total housing stock.