22 popular tourist destinations in the EU have asked the European Commission to introduce tougher general requirements for short-term rental platforms (such as Airbnb).

The Eurocities Alliance believes that such platforms are obliged to provide information on transactions to local authorities. In addition, if landlords do not comply with local regulations (for example, renting an apartment for a short period of time more days a year than prescribed by law), not only they, but also the platform should be held liable..

Currently, short-term rental platforms are not responsible for the offers that are posted on them.. This makes it difficult for the authorities to track the actions of individual homeowners and identify those who do not obey the rules, writes Europulse..

In many European cities, the authorities began to restrict the rental of apartments to tourists so that local residents did not suffer from the constant need to share an entrance or courtyard with often noisy tourists.. For example, in the center of Amsterdam, it was completely forbidden to rent housing through Airbnb.. Prague, Budapest, Tallinn and other cities plan to introduce similar measures.

Lisbon offered homeowners an alternative: instead of negotiating with residents on their own through online platforms, they can lease an apartment for a long-term lease to the city.

Airbnb has already agreed to negotiate new requirements. In 2018, the platform adopted EU requirements for posting more detailed information on rentals so that customers understand the full value of the transaction, which, in addition to renting, often includes cleaning and service fees..

Today the Alliance of European Cities unites Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona (Spain), Berlin, Bologna (France), Bordeaux (France), Brussels, Cologne (Germany), Florence (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany), Helsinki, Krakow (Poland).