Ten European cities, faced with a court ruling that may limit their ability to regulate Airbnb and other short-term renters, have jointly appealed to the European Union’s executive for help.
Many of the cities—Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna—already have regulations in place and in some cases agreements to limit the impact of short-term rental on housing for residents.
But those rules and agreements are based on earlier rulings that treated Airbnb as a real estate operator. But the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice recently ruled that it is merely an information platform. If that view is upheld by the court, cities would be unable to hold Airbnb responsible for the legality of its listings or compliance with local laws.
