The European Committee of the Regions (CdR) has declared that online environments are insufficient to inform local authorities about rents and landlords.

Determining the real owners

Especially in Spain, the difficulty of determining the real owners of the houses in the Balearic Islands has been a matter of discussion. The committee stressed that increasing demand is creating a rising rent problem for the local population.

Rising rent prices problem

Local and regional authorities argue that there must be a balance between real estate prices and the increased demand for their short-term rentals for business or educational reasons. Because, with the effect of rent increases, people started to migrate to the surrounding provinces.

On the other hand, while structures like Airbnb clash with EU representatives demanding regulation, institutions are forcing Airbnb to be more transparent. In this sense, the Government of the Balearic Islands criticizes online platforms for the difficulty of identifying the real owners of the rented houses. The government is considering imposing sanctions on advertisements. The Basque Government agrees.(Hosteltur)