On Wednesday night, MEPs and the Spanish Presidency of the Council reached a provisional agreement on the regulation on data collection and sharing related to short-term accommodation rental services (STRs). This initiative aims to promote a transparent and responsible platform economy in the EU and to inform effective local policies.

Commenting the deal, rapporteur Kim Van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, NL) said: “Cities are struggling with an explosion of illegal holiday rentals. This puts the liveability and affordability of cities across Europe under pressure. Until now, rental platforms have refused to share data, making it difficult to enforce local regulations. Fortunately, this law puts an end to that and returns more control to the cities. We are demonstrating that it is not large tech companies, but the cities themselves, that determine the rules”.

The agreed measures

Simpler registration: the agreed text sets up a free (or at a proportionate cost) online registration…