In a statement, the online platform that connects people who want to rent and travellers looking for accommodation states that, “six years later” after several moratoriums on short-term rentals, “Lisbon residents still face greater difficulties in finding affordable housing, with prices continuing to rise.”

Thus, Airbnb believes that the argument that “strict” restrictions on the sector “would help curb the increase in housing costs”.

The new regulations approved by the Lisbon City Council “will allow families to continue sharing their homes, while creating new opportunities for hosts and local businesses in various parishes of the city,” the platform considers.

New rules

The Lisbon City Council approved on November 27th the proposed amendment to the Municipal Regulation on Local Accommodation (RMAL), presented by the minority PSD/CDS-PP/IL executive and made possible with the support of Chega.

The proposal establishes that the proportion between local dwellings and permanent housing units be reduced in areas of absolute containment to "equal to or greater than 10%" and in areas of relative containment to "equal to or greater than 5% and less than 10%".

In addition to the reduction of the indices, the proposal determines the "creation of a single area of ​​absolute containment at the municipal level, whenever the municipality reaches an index equal to or greater than 10%".

The entire left voted against the proposal, calling it a "serious setback". PS, BE, Livre and PCP argued that the area of ​​absolute containment at the municipal level should have an index equal to or greater than 5%, as it was in the project submitted to public consultation.

“Important step”

Quoted in the press release, Sara Rodríguez, head of Airbnb campaigns for Spain and Portugal, points out that the approval of the new regulation “represents an important step towards restoring stability and confidence in the vacation rental sector in Lisbon.”

The representative emphasises that “local accommodation plays a fundamental role in distributing the benefits of tourism throughout the city, supporting neighbourhoods and local economies.”

Noting that seven out of ten Airbnb hosts in Lisbon indicate that hosting is not their primary occupation and that they only list a single property on the platform, the platform believes that the change “will allow more families to directly benefit from tourism profits” and “will also contribute to boosting the local economy and tourism activity and to offering visitors more affordable accommodation options.”

Airbnb points out that “Lisbon’s experience reflects what has happened in other cities, where the introduction of strict regulations for short-term rentals has not solved the challenges of access to housing,” mentioning the example of Edinburgh, Scotland, where “strict restrictions on short-term rentals were eased by the municipality earlier this year, after a 22% drop in the number of short-term rentals in four years failed to stem the sharp rise in housing prices, while also deterring visitors.”

In Barcelona, ​​Spain, a moratorium on new licenses has been in place since 2014, with Airbnb highlighting that “rents and house prices have risen to record highs.”

Also in New York, United States, the ban on short-term rentals in effect since 2023 “has not increased the availability or affordability of housing,” the platform notes.