EU proposes Affordable Housing Act: a common test for local curbs on short-term lets and second homes

The European Commission proposed the Affordable Housing Act on 9 September 2026. It is a draft regulation, now before the European Parliament and Council, with a non-binding recommendation on faster planning and permitting. The Act defines "areas under housing stress" by three tests: a price-to-income ratio of at least 8, a ratio that has risen over ten years (not required where it is 10 or more), and stress unlikely to ease within three years. In those areas, authorities may restrict short-term rentals, second homes or vacant dwellings if they show three years of evidence of adverse effects. Measures last at most five years, renewable after review. Short-term-rental curbs adopted under the Act cannot cover a host's main residence.

The Act obliges no one to act. It offers legal certainty under single-market rules in exchange for an evidence test. Other multi-level systems could borrow the design: a numeric trigger, a burden of proof and a sunset clause. The open question is whether one EU-wide threshold fits very different local markets.