Debate: Data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services
Date: WEDNESDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2024
Speaker: Kim Van Sparrentak
Country: Denmark
Language: EN

But in the last decade, we have seen a massive growth of the short-term rentals phenomenon, and the occasional renting out of spare rooms has turned into a full-blown business model driven by investors. In Amsterdam, 78% of the 8 739 listings on Airbnb are entire homes or apartments. That means that almost 7 000 homes or apartments are rented out for tourism rather than for residents. Meanwhile, there are not enough teachers in Amsterdam because they simply can’t afford to live there anymore. This development is simply capitalism doing its job. Renting out to tourists is more profitable than long-term rentals. On average, a listing in Amsterdam can generate an income of EUR 22 000 per year so houses are rented out as a holiday place for profit rather than as a home to live in. Research convincingly shows that short-term rentals contribute to driving up housing prices and rents. They also put the liveability of neighbourhoods under pressure. There are, of course, noise disturbances, but locals also see convenience stores and other services for residents disappear. And when you live in a neighbourhood with many Airbnbs, this has a dramatic effect on the social cohesion in your area. So you think, okay, if the situation is that bad, why don’t cities do something about it? And that’s where this legislation comes into play. Many cities and regions are trying to tackle overtourism and have developed local rules on short-term rentals, often introducing a maximum number of nights and guests that accommodation can be rented for and an obligation to register or – in certain cities – to obtain authorisation for renting out a flat to tourists. And in some cases – where the situation is extremely pressing – we have zone bans that have been introduced. But you need one thing to make sure that you can enforce these rules and that’s data – data on which listings are rented out for how many nights and to how many guests. Cities have been requesting to receive this data from the platforms for years, but the short-term rental platforms have been unwilling to share data with cities and have started an endless series of court cases to try to get rid of rules. So cities have put in place special inspection teams that have reverted to online and offline detective work, and are spending up to EUR 2 million a year to get a grip on their housing stock. Again, this is a burden smaller authorities can’t carry. So with this regulation, we are making clear that Big Tech doesn’t make the rules. And we are obliging these platforms to share data with authorities on a regular basis. Short-term rental platforms have to share data on the number of nights and the number of guests in an accommodation that was rented out on a monthly basis to a national platform. If local authorities want access to the data, they have to put in place a registration procedure. The sharing of data will allow cities and other authorities to better enforce the existing rules – including through the removal of illegal listings – and will contribute to fighting the housing crisis by tackling speculation and safeguarding access to affordable housing. I want to thank all the shadow rapporteurs for their constructive approach that allowed us to bridge our political differences, resulting in unanimous support in the IMCO Committee for the trilogue outcome. I therefore count on strong support as well in the vote tomorrow. And I want to thank again the Commission because we called for getting this legislation into place. We also asked the cities who came to Europe many times to ask for help. And now, within a year, we have managed to get an agreement.