France Leads with Italy and More as EU Short-Term Rental Nights Rise 5.3% Amid New Rules and Housing Pressure

France leads with Italy and more as EU short-term rental nights rise amid new rules and housing pressure, putting holiday accommodation checks in focus. In Europe, visitors have to deal with local registration systems, limits on the number of guests allowed and on the frequency of visitors’ accommodation in the guest’s home. The global shift has implications for global tourism, bridging the growing demand for apartments with housing issues and destination capacity. For holidaymakers, the “real” impact goes beyond the nightly rate and extends to the reliability of bookings, the maximum number of guests allowed, and the way they are able to arrive. Before booking a property in Europe, travellers should verify the permissions, costs and cancellation conditions of that property to make more informed decisions about what to expect when they arrive.

EU Short-Term Rental Growth: France Leads, Italy Expands Faster

France leads the EU’s online short-term rental market, followed by Spain, Italy and others. Travellers spent 258.8 million guest nights in accommodation booked through Airbnb, Booking and Expedia during April–June 2026. That was 5.3% more than a year earlier and 23.9% above the same period in 2024.

France, Spain and Italy generated approximately 57.1% of EU platform-booked guest nights, calculated from Eurostat’s second-quarter totals.

These figures measure people multiplied by nights, not rental properties. A couple staying five nights generates ten guest nights. Hotels and campsites are excluded. More guest nights therefore do not establish that more homes have become holiday lets—or that accommodation prices have fallen.

France Holiday Rentals: Paris Rules Reach the Front Door

Paris caps tourist letting of a principal residence at 90 days annually. Other dwellings need additional approvals, including change-of-use authorisation with compensation for residential space. A registration number does not replace those permissions.

Ask the host to identify the accommodation category before relying on the listing.

Arrival arrangements deserve equal attention. Paris prohibits keyboxes attached to public street furniture and can remove them. For a late arrival, request precise collection instructions and an alternative contact. The restriction does not prohibit every form of self-check-in; it concerns where the keybox sits.

Italy Short-Term Rentals: Use Florence’s Address Check

Florence’s updated framework took effect on 21 June 2026. New short-term tourist rentals cannot open in planning subzones A1, A3 and A4. Five-year property authorisations form part of the framework, with transitional provisions for qualifying accommodation lawfully operating during 2024.

The city’s planning map accepts a street name and building number. Use that address-level detail rather than a listing’s description of its neighbourhood.

Planning insight: distinguish restrictions on new businesses from the status of an established property. Florence’s rules do not order every existing holiday apartment to close.

Amsterdam Holiday Lets: Beds Are Not the Guest Limit

Amsterdam generally permits 30 nights of whole-home holiday letting annually, reduced to 15 nights in specified neighbourhoods, including Jordaan and Oude Pijp, from 1 April 2026.

The same accommodation category allows no more than four guests per stay. A five-person family should not assume that five advertised sleeping spaces make the booking suitable.

There is another easily missed detail: nights used by previous residents during that calendar year count towards a new resident’s allowance. A change of resident does not restart the limit. Confirm the permitted party size and remaining letting availability.

Greece, Lisbon and Croatia: Three Different Booking Checks

These measures regulate different things: entry to a rental register, neighbourhood concentration and permission within an apartment building.

For Croatia, the majority means more than two-thirds of ownership shares or the equivalent statutory area measure—not a simple headcount of neighbours.

Spain Rental VAT: The December Measure Was Repealed

Do not treat the previously announced December VAT change as a confirmed forthcoming charge. Spain repealed Royal Decree-law 26/2026 on 2 October 2026, removing the amendments scheduled for 1 December.

Where Spanish VAT applies, tax-agency guidance distinguishes tourist rentals without hotel-style services, generally VAT-exempt, from accommodation providing those services, taxed at 10%. Cleaning only at arrival and departure does not, by itself, qualify as a hotel-style service.

Request an itemised total. A tax proposal, an enacted measure and a repealed provision are not interchangeable.

Europe’s Rental Seasons: Winter Is Not Automatically Quiet

Croatia recorded 57% of its 2025 platform-booked nights in July and August; Greece recorded 43%.

Yet first-quarter 2026 demand also concentrated outside summer. Canarias and Rhône-Alpes each recorded 8.8 million nights, followed by Andalucía with 8.3 million.

The planning implication is destination-specific: moving a trip outside July and August does not, on these figures alone, establish lower demand. Compare accommodation with transport availability for the same dates. Guest-night totals cannot prove that another month will offer cheaper rooms or quieter streets.

Housing Pressure: National Growth Cannot Describe Your Street

The European Commission’s December 2025 assessment estimated short-term rental listings at around 1.2% relative to EU dwelling numbers, with rental-linked housing reaching 20% of the stock in particular tourism hotspots and city areas.

The Commission recognises host income and tourism benefits alongside potential housing pressures. It cautions that rental concentration does not automatically establish shortages or higher prices.

The distinction matters: tourism volume measures use; housing evidence measures residential effects; capacity assessments examine services such as transport and water. No single guest-night total answers all three questions.

Holiday Rental Cancellation Rights: Read This Before Paying

Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 has applied since 20 May 2026. It governs registration and platform data-sharing where covered schemes operate—not a single European letting cap.

Date-specific holiday accommodation also falls outside the standard EU 14-day withdrawal right. Booking online does not automatically provide two weeks to change your mind.

Before committing:

• Save the full agreement: price, compulsory charges, dates, guest count and arrival arrangements.
• Check cancellation deadlines: distinguish your cancellation rights from the response to a host cancellation.
• Ask about replacement arrangements: establish what the provider promises, rather than assuming a refund secures another stay.

Judge value by the complete booking—not the nightly rate alone.

France leads with Italy and more as travel demand drives a 5.3% rise in EU short-term rental nights amid new rules and housing pressure.

In conclusion, France leads with Italy and more as EU short-term rental nights rise 5.3% amid new rules and housing pressure. France’s lead reflects the volume of platform-booked stays, while local regulations address distinct accommodation and residential concerns. For travellers, growing demand makes property-level checks more important than national rankings. Confirm registration, permitted guest numbers, complete prices and cancellation terms before paying. Europe’s rental growth explains the market’s scale; the rules at your chosen address determine how the accommodation can operate. Choose the stay by its full conditions—not its nightly price alone.