Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its ruling in Smartflats SA v Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (Case C-813/24), a case examining whether local restrictions on short-term rentals comply with the EU Services Directive. The judgment comes as the European Commission has recently proposed new rules governing short-term rentals under its Affordable Housing Act.
In response to the Court’s ruling, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) issued this statement.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Europe’s Policy Manager, Albane Vannier:
“Today’s EU Court ruling on the Brussels-Capital Region’s short-term rental restrictions sends a clear message beyond Belgium: local rules must be justified, proportionate, and evidence-backed. Housing affordability is a real challenge, but unjustified business restrictions are not the answer.”
“The Court has confirmed that the EU Services Directive applies to planning restrictions that cities impose on short-term rentals. As the European Parliament and Council now examine the Affordable Housing Act (AHA), they must strengthen, not weaken, Single Market protections. That starts with rejecting the Commission’s proposal to exclude short-term rental restrictions from the Services Directive.”
“EU co-legislators must also give the Commission effective powers to swiftly challenge disproportionate local restrictions. Independent oversight and meaningful redress are essential to prevent businesses from facing years of administrative and judicial proceedings.”
“Without meaningful changes, the Affordable Housing Act will simply perpetuate cases like today’s: Smartflats spent six years seeking authorisation and three years in litigation, only to go bankrupt before receiving a final answer. Europe cannot defend its Single Market one court case at a time.”
“The ruling comes six years after the Court’s landmark Cali Apartments judgment set clear limits on how cities can regulate short-term rentals. Yet today the Court has had to spell them out again for Brussels. Case-law alone is not enough. The Commission needs to be given the mandate to tackle such local restrictions head-on.”
