The EHHA (European Holiday Homes Association) condemns the disproportionate Catalan short-term rental rules that breach the EU Services Directive.
THE European Holiday Home Association (EHHA)whose father stuttering Greece is an official member who filed a formal complaint with European Commission for them “unjustified and disproportionate Catalan short-term rental rules that contradict the legislation of EU“.
In the EU, any national, regional or local rules intended to impose restrictions on the provision of short-term rental services must comply with EU law and in particular the Services Directive. The Services Directive specifies that these rules must be reasoned, impartial and proportionate.
EHHA believes that the Catalan Housing Decree (3/2023) violates the EU Services Directive as the restrictions imposed on providers of short-term rental accommodation are unjustified, disproportionate and inadequate to address the excessive shortage in tourism and housing. As such, they risk causing significant damage to families struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, to tourism operators of all sizes and shapes and to local economies.
EHHA emphasizes that political accusations that short-term rentals affect housing availability and affordability and contribute to overtourism are too one-dimensional in a multi-faceted and overly complex debate. Issues such as growing urban populations and migration, aging societies, under-investment or under-employment of the public budget to build new housing, strict urban planning regimes, empty homes and empty commercial premises, mortgage interest rates at the heart of Europe’s housing challenges today are short-term rentals they should not be seen as an easy scapegoat for overly restrictive rules to the detriment of European citizens, small tourism operators and local communities.
The Secretary General of EHHA, Victoria Molnar stated: “Over the years, EHHA members have supported the sharing of STR data with authorities and welcomed the EU regulation on the collection and exchange of data on short-term rental housing, which is expected to increase transparency and lead to policy-based data at local level.
However, we are very disappointed to learn that the Catalan housing decree, which was issued in haste and without a public consultation period, is based on unverified assumptions and without any evidence of a causal relationship between short-term rental accommodation providers and ignores the complexities of housing issues.
The European Commission services have already expressed their concern to the Spanish authorities that the restrictions provided for in the Catalan Housing Decree are not suitable to achieve the objective of combating the housing shortage and are disproportionate to this objective and that they appear to be in breach of the EU Services Directive .
We are convinced that EU law has not been respected. By submitting the complaint to the EU, we hope that the European Commission will go one step further and start formal infringement proceedings against Spain.
We again call on the new Catalan government to review the concerns expressed by the European Commission and to act diligently and urgently to take action against the unjust and disproportionate provisions of the law.
