IUT in Euronews: Call to turn the housing market more social as COVID hits Europe’s short stay market on Airbnb

– Tenants’ unions are calling on European governments to follow the examples of Lisbon and Barcelona with the money from the Coronavirus relief fund. Both metropolises had suffered from Airbnb mass tourism, which made rents almost unaffordable for residents. City councils then bought buildings with Airbnb flats and converted them into social housing, says Barbara Steenbergen in a Euronews interview.

– With huge sums of money soon to be injected into EU countries to reboot the economy after the pandemic, many see this as an opportunity to turn the entire housing market around, says Barbara Steenbergen of the International Union of Tenants. Europe is on the verge of creating non-profit housing markets with affordable rents.

Where the state has failed, the virus has won. The Covid crisis has hit the flat broker Airbnb hard. Travel restrictions and lockdowns have brought tourist flows to a standstill. However, the long-term rental business has benefited. This is a Europe-wide trend that is particularly noticeable in tourist countries.

Many owners have withdrawn from the short-term rental market and are now looking for long-term tenants, explains real estate expert Mario Breglia. There has not been such a phenomenon for decades in Italy, for example. a addition, owners are willing to settle for lower but steady rents.

Over the last twelve months, Airbnb bookings in Europe’s most popular cities fell by half. But this is not enough to ease the pressure on local housing markets.

Tenants’ associations are therefore calling on European governments to follow the examples of Lisbon and Barcelona with the money from the Coronavirus relief fund. Both metropolises had suffered from Airbnb mass tourism, which made rents almost unaffordable for residents. City councils then bought buildings with Airbnb flats and converted them into social housing.

With huge sums of money soon to be injected into EU countries to reboot the economy after the pandemic, many see this as an opportunity to turn the entire housing market around, says Barbara Steenbergen of the International Union of Tenants. Europe is on the verge of creating non-profit housing markets with affordable rents.

The pandemic has also hit Europe’s middle class hard.  Calls are coming from the European Parliament to change this.

Investments in the housing sector have an immediate impact on the private market because prices go down, says French MEP Leïla Chaibi. This is therefore an effective way to create more affordable housing.

The pandemic has had the positive effect of bringing movement to the housing markets – to the benefit of those looking for accommodation. Now, however, policy-makers need to be just as agile.