European Court decision against short-term leasing!

ECJ decision on housing deficit

Cities may ban Airbnb rentals

Two Paris owners have to pay a fine of 15,000 euros for renting an apartment through Airbnb without authorization. On the other hand, they have gone to the highest court in Europe - and will suffer a setback. The judges have thus established case law for these cases and a legal basis for other EU metropolises.

In the fight against the housing deficit, EU countries can restrict short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb. This was decided by the European Court of Justice. Leading EU judges have confirmed a French regulation that short-term rentals in major cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants and near Paris require a licence. This does not violate the EU Services Directive, provided there are overriding reasons in the public interest. And the fight against the housing deficit is a very strong reason.

France has introduced such a permit requirement for the greater Paris area and all cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants. For non-compliance, the owners of two studios in Paris were fined 15,000 euros each. They had to offer the apartments back to the normal rental market. The owners then called the French High Court. And it has appealed to the ECJ to clarify whether the national directive complies with European law. Yes, the court ruled.

The application for authorisation aims to create a system to combat the housing deficit "that take into account the deterioration of the conditions of access to housing and the worsening of tensions in the housing markets, an overriding reason of general interest". The measures are proportionate - the desired objective cannot be achieved through softer regulation.

Source: ntv.de, jug / dpa / AFP