For years Berlin has been a sort of Mecca in Europe for artists, designers, creatives seeking an international city with cheap rents. Known as a very cosmopolitan place with a vibrant arts scene, the city is an anomaly in Western Europe, where despite struggling economies, the cities remain very expensive.

Berlin rents have been roughly a third of those in the rest of Germany, but that has started to change in the last couple years as rents have moved aggressively north.

Airbnb and other peer to peer apartment sharing platforms are taking part of the blame, as housing advocates across the world argue that they take housing supply out of the population even if they promote tourism.

Effective January 1st, residents in Berlin will have to apply for a permit to rent out their apartments or face a steep fine. This is the first really aggressive legal stance I’m seeing from a major international city against Airbnb and others. The question is always about enforcement but it’s fair to say that the law should begin to retard vacation apartment sharing in Berlin.

Will it actually help stabilize rising rents in Berlin? Proponents of the law say that 12,000 apartments will be phased back into the general circulation. But I’m skeptical. With raising rents in cities, there are usually a multitude of variables driving rising costs. I’d rather see cities tax short term rentals and funnel that money into development of affordable housing for residents.