Bjørnar Skjæran: – Må gi mulighet til å forby korttidsutleie

Boligminister Bjørnar Skjæran has announced that new regulations for short-term rentals are set to be introduced soon. During recent surveys conducted by E24, it was found that several major cities in Norway have been hosting numerous "skyggehoteller" or "ghost hotels", which are properties used for short-term rentals. Locals and municipalities have expressed their concerns about the impact of these accommodations on community life and the property market.

Helga Norland, a member of the neighborhood group "Redd Bergen!", lamented the loss of neighbors due to the influx of short-term rentals. She recalled the previous use of these properties as family homes. Several political parties in the Storting have also requested various tools for municipalities to combat the issue. Skjæran criticized the government's minimal response, stating that they have done "extremely little".

Despite the slow progress, Skjæran expressed hope that the proposed legislation will receive support during the upcoming hearings in the Storting. He believes that regulations should provide municipalities with greater authority to control short-term rentals and prevent them in certain situations, particularly when they interfere with regular rental properties and create challenges within the housing market and neighborhoods.

Skjæran emphasized that the regulation should enable municipalities to ban short-term rentals in specific scenarios, especially when they disrupt the housing market and neighborhood dynamics. He pointed out that while there are many property owners involved in short-term rentals through companies and platforms like Airbnb, the new regulation should provide a professional framework for those seeking assistance in managing their rental properties.

Skjæran suggested that clear guidelines would help professionalize the sector, allowing property owners to seek help from professional firms if they wish to rent out their homes on platforms like Airbnb. However, he could not predict when the new regulations would be implemented, as Norwegian hearings are known to be lengthy processes. Nonetheless, he hopes that the EU's proposal for new rules, which aims to simplify data collection and sharing, will provide a useful model for Norway.