Europe’s New Short-Term Rental Rules: What UK Second-Home Owners Should Know Introduction

A new EU framework began in May. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 began applying on 20 May 2026 and it's purpose is to create a common framework for collecting and sharing information relating to short-term accommodation offered through online platforms. The Regulation covers hosts providing short-term accommodation rental services in the EU and the online platforms through which many bookings are made.

For UK owners, Brexit does not mean an EU-located holiday property can simply be treated as though EU rules are irrelevant. The relevant activity is the provision of accommodation within the Union. That deserves particular attention where projected short-let income forms an important part of the financial case for owning the property.

The European Commission explains that, where Member States operate registration systems under the framework, hosts can receive a unique registration number for their property. Platforms are required to display and verify relevant registration numbers and perform checks. Data on guest stays and nights booked can also be transmitted regularly to public authorities through national digital entry points. The scale of the market explains the regulatory interest. According to the Commission, guests spent 951.6 million nights in accommodation booked through online short-term rental platforms in the EU during 2025. Greater data visibility potentially makes it easier for authorities to understand how short-term letting affects tourism and housing supply and to enforce existing rules.

The EU has not created one holiday-letting rulebook This distinction is crucial. The Regulation is principally about registration-related information and data transparency. It does not abolish the power of countries, regions and municipalities to establish their own rules governing short-term accommodation, planning, land use, housing or tenancies. A property that can legally be holiday-let in one European city may therefore face materially different restrictions from a similar property elsewhere.

Consequently, seeing an existing property advertised successfully on a booking platform should not by itself be taken as proof that unrestricted short-term letting will remain possible, or that a future owner automatically inherits every permission required.

Anyone buying a European property partly for rental income should establish the regulatory position before relying on projected returns. Questions may include whether registration or a tourism licence is necessary; whether new licences are available; whether municipal or regional restrictions limit the number of nights; and whether the building or owners' association imposes separate conditions.

Tax treatment, insurance, safety requirements and the management of guests require their own professional advice. Existing owners should similarly confirm that registration information supplied to platforms remains accurate and that their property still complies with the local rules behind the listing.

For many owners, a European property is primarily a lifestyle purchase and occasional rental income is secondary. For others, projected weekly rental rates and occupancy levels are central to affordability. Greater regulatory transparency makes it increasingly important to separate what a property could theoretically earn from what it can legally and practically earn. That can affect not only annual income but the attractiveness of the property to a future purchaser with similar plans.

The EU's new Regulation does not prohibit short-term letting, nor does it create a single European licensing system. What it does is make the relationship between hosts, platforms and public authorities more structured and transparent. For UK buyers looking at European second homes, that reinforces a simple discipline: investigate the local letting regime with the same seriousness as title, taxation, condition and purchase costs.

Where professional advice is required, use appropriately qualified property, legal and tax specialists in the jurisdiction concerned. Property buyers can also explore the Leading Estate Agents of the World network for relevant local property expertise, while recognising that estate agency guidance does not replace legal or tax advice.