EU moves to curb tourist rentals as Sardinia's housing squeeze deepens

The European Union is set to lay out rules to help European cities curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb in a bid to tackle rising house prices, according to plans seen by AFP on Friday and reported by The Local Italy.

The proposed measures would give local authorities greater power to regulate the booming holiday-let market, which has been blamed for pushing up rents and pricing residents out of historic city centres across the continent.

For Sardinia, the timing is significant. The island's coastal towns have seen an explosion of short-term lets over the past decade, transforming the housing market in places like Cagliari, Alghero and Olbia.