Brussels Airbnb restrictions face legal challenge from property owners

A legal action against restrictions on renting out scarce Brussels real estate for tourist accommodation has been filed by Short Term Rental (STR), an association that defends the interests of property owners, both private and professional, who operate such non-hotel tourist lodgings.

The restrictions were laid down in response to multiple studies from across Europe and in the US showing that Airbnb exacerbates the precarious housing situation in major cities, including Brussels.

The city then tightened some of the requirements on running non-hotel tourist accommodations in the capital, hoping to cut back on the number of investor-owned properties sitting empty while Brussels residents struggle to find affordable housing.

“We will be challenging the order on the grounds that it does not comply with the European Services Directive, which provides a framework for entrepreneurial freedom,” said Grégory Huon, STR chairman.

“We refuse to allow our sector to be used as a scapegoat, and we call on the future government to assume its responsibilities in this area.”

Apart from the impact on housing availability, studies – including a recent one from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) – also pointed to neighbourhood cultural decay, noting that without year-round residents, many areas of the capital were losing their character.

STR would like to see the new restrictions on rental properties for tourists annulled, although the Court of Justice of the European Union already ruled on the matter in Paris, concluding that authorities have the right to introduce authorisation schemes for an overriding reason of general interest so long as the rules are proportionate to the objective pursued.

“We understand the housing problems in certain neighbourhoods, but we advocate a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood approach,” said Huon. “That's not the case here, where we have the same rules for all 19 communes.”

Huon also called for more proof that tourist accommodations were having an impact on the housing crisis.