European Cities Reclaiming Housing

Now that the pandemic has all but cut off the steady flow of visitors, many European cities are seizing an opportunity to push short-term rentals back onto the long-term housing market. In Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, the city government is becoming a landlord itself by renting empty apartments and subletting them as subsidized housing. In Barcelona, Spain, the housing department is threatening to take possession of empty properties and do the same. Other city governments are enacting or planning laws to curb the explosive growth of rentals aimed largely at tourists. Amsterdam has banned vacation rentals in the heart of the old city, a Berlin official warned of a crackdown on short-term leasing platforms “trying to evade regulation and the enforcement of law,” and Paris is planning a referendum on Airbnb-type listings. For years, properties rented out for short-term stays have snatched away housing units from local residents in several European cities. Lisbon has more than 22,000 Airbnb listings, according to Inside Airbnb, which tracks listings in cities around the globe. Barcelona has 18,000, and Paris — one of the platform’s largest markets — has nearly 60,000. The most ambitious initiative is arguably the one in Lisbon, which has started signing five-year leases for empty short-term rental apartments. These properties are then sublet at lower prices to people eligible for subsidized housing. The city government has set aside 4 million euros, or about $4.7 million, for the first year of subsidies. The program is aiming to attract 1,000 apartment owners this year and has drawn 200 so far. Medina said he was confident that the plan would meet its goal, since a rebound in tourism anytime soon seems increasingly unlikely as the pandemic drags on. However, some homeowners do not consider the city government a reliable tenant. Portugal, they say, has a history of legal uncertainty and sudden rule changes whenever a new administration takes office.