EU preparing Airbnb restrictions; Portugal already took measures

The European Commission is drafting an 'Affordable Housing Law' aimed at limiting short-term rentals like Airbnb in areas where rural housing pressure is high. According to the Financial Times, short-term rentals account for 1.2% of the housing stock across the EU, while in tourist spots this share can rise to as high as 20%. The new framework will allow authorities to intervene in problematic areas instead of imposing a single rule everywhere.

In Portugal, the municipalities of Lisbon, Porto, and Funchal have already put their own regulations into effect. In Lisbon, local lodging accounts for 67% of the tourist accommodation supply; the municipality declares 'absolute containment' zones in neighborhoods where the ratio of local lodging to permanent housing exceeds 10%, halting new licenses. Porto classifies its historic central neighborhoods as containment zones and its outer neighborhoods as 'sustainable growth' zones.

Funchal, with a new regulation approved in June 2024, divided almost the entire district into two containment zones; thus, the capital of Madeira presents the closest implementation to the model the EU envisions. These local experiences will serve as references while Brussels shapes its common framework.