Lisbon relaxes rules for short term rentals

Making Lisbon more affordable for everyone

According to Airbnb, the new rules will help make Lisbon more affordable for everyone. For locals, these changes will empower them to share their homes to help cover high living costs. Seven in ten Lisbon hosts share only one home and say that hosting is not their primary job.

For visitors, the new rules will help diversify accommodation options and provide more affordable alternatives to hotels, which are concentrated in the city, with many more under construction. In the Santo Antonio district of Lisbon, for example, data shows there are approximately three hotel – or similar – rooms for every five local residents.

Sara Rodríguez, Airbnb Head of Public Policy for Spain and Portugal, said: “Lisbon’s strict short-term rental rules have failed to make housing more affordable. Instead, they made the city less affordable for everyone, limiting earning opportunities for locals and driving up accommodation prices for visitors. In cities around the world, the root cause of housing challenges is a lack of available housing – not short-term rentals. We thank Lisbon City Hall for overturning its restrictions, which will provide more opportunities for locals to share their homes and boost their incomes. We hope more cities will follow Lisbon’s lead.”

Failing restrictions around the world

Lisbon’s turn-around confirms what Airbnb wants to highlight to the public: repealed short-term rental rules fail to address housing challenges. The company gives in its communication a few examples around the world.

In Edinburgh, strict restrictions that led to a 22% drop in short-term rentals, were relaxed earlier this year after rents and hotel prices in the city hit record highs, rising twice as fast as in the rest of the country.

In Barcelona, restrictions – including a ban on new short-term rental licenses – have been in place for more than a decade. And while the number of short-term rentals in the city dropped during that period, rents and house prices soared to record highs, increasing by 70% and 60% respectively.

In 2019, Amsterdam limited short-term rentals to 30 nights per year. While the number of Airbnb listings dropped by 54% from 2019 to 2024, rents increased by more than a third during the same period – rising faster than in the Netherlands overall, where rents increased by 13%.

In New York City, the de facto ban on short-term rentals since 2023 has not increased housing availability or affordability as promised, with vacancy rates unchanged and rents continuing to rise, despite Airbnb short-term listings dropping by approximately 92%. Meanwhile, hotel rates are at a record high.