The vacation rental market is shouldering part of the blame for rising housing costs, particularly in popular tourist destinations.
In another attempt to bring down housing costs by limiting the short-term rental market, the French Parliament voted to tighten regulations on Airbnb and similar vacation rental companies, report Arnaud Bouvier and Severine Rouby in Fortune. “The legislation, which has been in the works since April 2023, aims to slash tax breaks for tourist properties in a bid to curb short-term rentals amid shortages of affordable housing.”
According to the article, the number of furnished short-term rentals in the country shot up from 300,000 to 1.2 million in eight years, while housing costs have gone up.
Under the new law, “The tax allowance for furnished tourist accommodation would fall to 50 percent from 71 percent, with a cap lowered to 77,700 euros (83,500 dollars).” Local jurisdictions will also be allowed to reduce the rental duration from 120 days per year to 90 days per year and set quotas for furnished accommodations.
FULL STORY: France approves anti-Airbnb bill to crack down on the ‘explosive increase’ in tourist rentals
Spain Moves to Regulate Short-Term Rentals
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How Much Are Short-Term Rentals to Blame for the Housing Crisis?
Whether and how deeply Airbnb and other short-term rentals affect housing costs depends largely on local conditions and economies.
Study: Vacation Rentals Compounding South Florida Housing Crisis
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research