Budapest district votes on banning short-term rentals
Budapest among EU's top short-stay destinations
Locals vote on possible ban starting from 2026
Mayor says tourism could make some cities uninhabitable
Vote could trigger wider regulation, affect prices
By Krisztina Fenyo and Gergely Szakacs
BUDAPEST, Sept 5 (Reuters) -A Budapest district is holding a two-week referendum on a possible ban on short-term rentals, which would be the first of its kind in one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations.
Eurostat figures show almost 719 million guest nights spent in the European Union were booked via online platforms Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor last year, with Paris leading EU capitals with over 19 million guest nights.
Within central Europe, Budapest was the most popular for short-term stays with 6.7 million guest nights, ahead of Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Krakow and others.
Tamas Soproni, mayor of the Budapest district staging the vote that began on Monday and ends on Sept. 15, says the city's popularity has justified asking locals about the impact of short-term stays on housing affordability and quality of life.
"You cannot sit idle and just wait for something to happen," said Soproni, the mayor of Budapest's scenic sixth district.
"I think we should be grateful for living in an age when many people can afford holidays abroad. However, what we do not take into account is that there will be cities which we as tourists make uninhabitable."
If adopted, a ban would take place from the start of 2026.
The outcome of the vote could have wider implications, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government mulling regulation on short-term rentals, which the economy minister says contribute to a housing shortage and high prices.
Real estate website ingatlan.com said a ban in the sixth district, where apartment prices are 22% above the Budapest average, could temporarily curb long-term rental prices.
Opponents of a ban say the move would hit revenue not just for apartment hosts but nearby cafes and restaurants catering largely to foreign tourists.
In June, Barcelona, a top Spanish holiday destination, announced that it will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 as it seeks to rein in soaring housing costs and make the city liveable for residents.
In central Europe, the Czech Regional Development Ministry has proposed a legal amendment that would force all properties listed on online platforms to be registered via a new electronic platform, which would make it easier to collect national and local taxes.
The legislation, which needs to go through parliament, would take effect in mid-2026 and would also allow municipalities to put a limit on the number of days properties can be rented out, and define periods when it would not be allowed.
Local authorities in Poland's Sopot, Krakow and other popular tourist spots have demanded tighter regulation of holiday rentals but new rules have not yet been implemented.
In Budapest's sixth district residents had mixed views. Gabor Siklosi favoured more restrictions but not an outright ban. Matild, who declined to give her surname, said short-term rentals were causing problems.
"People going out and about have no interest in keeping quiet, order or cleanliness," she said. "Today they are here and they will be doing their business somewhere else tomorrow."
Additional reporting by Alan Charlish in WARSAW and Jan Lopatka in PRAGUE
Writing by Gergely Szakacs
Editing by Ros Russell
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
