A very good article by Amandine Cloot in Le Soir newspaper, which neatly sums up the debate in its conclusion: “The issue is technical, but the stakes are crucial. This is true both for housing policy in the capital, as other cities are facing critical problems in terms of accessibility for their residents as a result of the success of companies such as Airbnb, and for tourism policy, as platforms now play a decisive role in travelers’ consumption habits.”
However, the Court of Appeal judge considers that “the Region does not prove a significant inflationary effect on rent levels, at least not across the board; such an effect could only be observed on an ad hoc basis and only along the canal bordering the Pentagon, around the Midi station, and in the European quarter.” ” However, according to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), requiring a certificate of urban planning compliance is only compatible with the Services Directive if this penalizing effect on access to housing for Brussels residents is proven.
STR-Belgium welcomes the fact that the Court of Appeal is basing its decision on the ruling of the CJEU.
We refer here to various conclusions and findings discussed elsewhere on the site to fully appreciate the scale of the challenge:
- The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) emphasized in the Cali Apartments case in Paris (September 2020) that the introduction of an authorization system must be “justified by an overriding reason in the public interest” and must remain proportionate to that objective. In particular, the legislator must ensure that the regulations are “strictly appropriate” to the specific situation not of the municipality as a whole, but of “each neighborhood.” Note: it is really difficult to understand why the Brussels-Capital Region, according to R. Vervoort, should be exempt from this rule, which applies unequivocally to all regions of Europe.
- “89% of EU citizens who have booked short-term rentals would recommend it to others.” If the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region decides to destroy the sector, tourists will change their travel destination with a single click. Many European and international citizens will no longer come to Brussels!
- It is important to remember that studies produced to justify any inflationary effect on the housing supply must not be biased – see news item and case examined by the Supreme Court in Valencia (Spain) – July 26, 2023. STR-Belgium will be extremely vigilant on this point.
