With Vacation Rentals Empty, European Cities See a Chance to Reclaim Housing

With Vacation Rentals Empty, European Cities See a Chance to Reclaim Housing

The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesVaccine TrackerRecord Number of HospitalizationsAnswers to Your QuestionsPlatforms like Airbnb have been criticized for raising living costs in popular cities. Now, officials are trying to move properties aimed at tourists to long-term leases.A historical district of Lisbon. For years, apartment rentals aimed at tourists have drained the supply of housing in the city.Credit...Patricia De Melo Moreira/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Raphael Minder and Geneva AbdulLISBON — Long before the coronavirus swept across Europe this spring, many cities had been complaining that a proliferation of short-term apartment rentals aimed at tourists through platforms like Airbnb was driving up housing costs for locals and destroying the character of historic districts.Now that the pandemic has all but cut off the steady flow of visitors, many European cities are