11.11.2022
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Regulation to improve transparency in the field of short-term rentals and to assist public authorities in ensuring their balanced development within the sustainable tourism sector.
While short-term accommodation bookings benefit hosts and tourists, they can create problems for some local communities that are struggling with affordable housing, for example. The new rules will improve the collection and sharing of data from hosts and online platforms. This, in turn, will provide the basis for effective and proportionate local policies to address the challenges and opportunities associated with the short-term rental sector.
The new proposed rules will help increase transparency in the identification and operation of short-stay hosts, as well as the rules they must comply with, and facilitate host registration. They will also remove the current fragmentation in how online platforms share data and ultimately help prevent illegal listings. Overall, this will contribute to a more sustainable tourism ecosystem and support its digital transition.
New communication requirements for short-term rentals
The new proposed structure would be:
1) Harmonize registration requirements for hosts and their short-term rental property when they are introduced by the national authorities. Registration schemes should be fully online and user-friendly. A similar set of relevant information about hosts and their properties should be required. When registration is completed, hosts must receive a unique registration number.
2) Clarify the rules for displaying and verifying registration numbers: Online platforms will need to encourage hosts to display registration numbers on their platforms. They will also have to randomly check if the hosts are registering and displaying the correct numbers. Governments will be able to suspend registration numbers and ask platforms to remove non-compliant hosts.
3) Optimize data exchange between online platforms and government agencies. Online platforms will have to automatically exchange data on the number of rented nights and guests with government agencies once a month. Easier reporting capabilities are provided for small and micro platforms. Public authorities will be able to receive this data through national “single digital entry points”. This will contribute to the development of a targeted policy.
4) Allow data reuse in aggregated form. The data generated by this proposal, in aggregate form, will contribute to the tourism statistics produced by Eurostat and will feed into the European tourism data space. This information will contribute to the development of innovative services related to tourism.
5) Create an effective implementation system. Member States will monitor the implementation of this transparency system and impose appropriate sanctions for non-compliance with obligations under this Regulation.
Next steps
The Commission’s proposal will be discussed subject to acceptance by the European Parliament and the Council.
After its adoption and entry into force, Member States will have a two-year period to establish the necessary mechanisms for data exchange.
Short-term rentals are growing rapidly in the EU, driven largely by economic platforms. They make up about a quarter of all tourist sites in the EU, and their number is increasing significantly across the EU. This trend has been confirmed during the COVID crisis, with bookings for short-term rentals in the summer of 2020 and 2021 higher than in 2018. In addition, bookings for the first half of 2022 increased by 138% compared to the same period in 2021. Short-term rentals have become critical for the EU tourism ecosystem, including guests and hosts, and for many communities, creating both opportunities and challenges.
The proposal for a Regulation for the collection and exchange of data relating to short-term rental services is a key step in the transition to tourism, a balanced and responsible development of a common economy in the Single Market, with full respect for the public interest.
It will also complement existing instruments, notably the Digital Services Act, which regulates online platforms, and the rules of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in Taxation (DAC7).
