Luxembourg's Interior Minister Léon Gloden has confirmed that the country is not exempt from crimes linked to short-term holiday rentals, despite the police not specifically tracking related figures. This disclosure came in response to a parliamentary question by Marc Goergen, a Pirate Party parliamentarian, who sought to clarify the extent of such issues in Luxembourg after reports from the UK highlighted frequent problems with short-term rentals there.
Research conducted in the United Kingdom by Airbnb, the world’s largest short-term rental platform, identified key issues experienced by users, including phishing scams, credit card fraud, and dishonest advertising. Examples of such dishonest advertising include the use of artificial intelligence to enhance photographs or misrepresenting a property’s location. Similar concerns have emerged in Luxembourg, where there have been reports of empty properties being listed for rent without the owners’ knowledge or consent.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Union luxembourgeoise des consommateurs (ULC) – a consumer protection organisation – received six complaints related to short-term rentals. Of those, two involved scams or phishing attempts, two concerned co-ownership questions, one pertained to a tenant-landlord conflict, and another involved a neighbourhood dispute. Additionally, the Centre Européen des Consommateurs Luxembourg (CEC) recorded two Airbnb-related complaints in 2024, one regarding misleading advertising and another concerning properties without guaranteed access.
Minister Gloden further noted that Luxembourg’s Directorate for Consumer Protection handled two complaints involving short-term rentals last year. One case involved a double booking of an apartment in another EU country where the Luxembourg-based guest received no compensation, while the other concerned a guest held responsible for pre-existing damage to an apartment.
Although the police regularly conduct campaigns aimed at raising public awareness about phishing and internet scams, there have been no targeted campaigns addressing short-term rental platforms specifically, according to Gloden. When illegal activities on such platforms are observed, the minister advised that the initial step should be to report these issues to the platform itself, which is obliged to investigate and potentially remove the advertisement. If the matter remains unresolved, the Competition Authority in Luxembourg may initiate further investigations in cooperation with relevant authorities. A dedicated form is available on the Guichet.lu portal for individuals wishing to request such investigations.
Minister Gloden acknowledged that there could be more cases connected to short-term holiday rentals than those officially recorded. This is partly because police data collection does not categorise these complaints under a specific heading. Depending on the nature of the complaint – whether it concerns rental platforms or third parties, or falls within categories like phishing, credit card fraud, or non-existent rental properties – cases may be recorded under various broader crime categories.
The Luxembourg Times is reporting that while short-term rental-related crimes exist in Luxembourg, official monitoring and data collection remain limited, with consumer protection bodies handling a small number of reported cases amid growing public concern.
Source: Noah Wire Services