Short-term rentals represent only 1.2% of the housing stock at EU level

Omissions

• The 1.2% figure is an EU-wide average for REGISTERED short-term rentals; the same source (POLITICO, citing the Commission) notes that in tourist hotspots like Porto and other major European cities short-term rentals can account for as much as 20% of homes, so the 'only 1.2%' framing understates the local concentration and impact.
• The exact 1.2% figure appears in a single independent secondary source (POLITICO) attributing it to official/Commission estimates; the Commission's own Affordable Housing page reports the surge in short-term rentals (up 93% between 2018 and 2024) but does not publish the 1.2% share explicitly, so the figure could not be corroborated by a primary source.
• The MEP cited no source; the 1.2% is presented as a static average without the geographic concentration context that the underlying source itself provides.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Affordable housing topic pageJust 6-7% of EU housing stock is social housing, while 20% of homes remain unoccupied, and short-term rentals have surged 93% between 2018 and 2024.
• SecondaryPOLITICO Europe — 'EU to crack down on short-term rentals in bid to slash housing prices'While registered short-term rentals officially account for around only 1.2 percent of the bloc's overall housing stock, they can make up as much as 20 percent of homes in tourist hotspots like Porto and major European cities.