Budapest District Votes to Restrict Airbnb Style Rentals

Residents of an area of Budapest have narrowly voted to ban Airbnb-style short-term rentals from 2026.
The decision, which could have large ramifications on the housing market in the Hungarian capital, one of Europe’s premier tourist destinations, was reached on Monday.
Results published on Budapest’s sixth district’s website showed that 54 percent of voters backed the ban, with a 20.5 percent turnout, which the district said was well above levels seen at other local initiatives.
Named Terézváros, which means Theresa Town, the sixth district is particularly popular with tourists due to its central location and nightlife. It is also home to the city’s grandest thoroughfare, Andrássy Avenue, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002.
Eurostat figures show that almost 719 million guest nights spent in the EU were booked via online platforms Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia Group, and Tripadvisor last year, with Paris leading EU capitals with more than 19 million guest nights.
In Central Europe, Budapest was the most popular for short-term stays, with 6.7 million guest nights, ahead of Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, and Kraków, among others.
“The majority of YES votes signals that residents of the district value the peace of their home more than lost revenue,” the local council said in a statement.
Tamas Soproni, mayor of the sixth district, said the city’s popularity with tourists has justified asking locals about the impact of short-term stays on housing affordability and quality of life.
Opponents of the ban say it would hit revenue for not only apartment hosts but also cafés and restaurants catering largely to foreign tourists in the area.
The outcome of the vote could have wider implications, with the Orban government considering national regulation on short-term rentals, which the economy minister says are contributing to increased property prices and a housing shortage in Hungary.
Property website ingatlan.com said last week that the supply of high-end apartments for sale in the sixth district had increased by nearly 3 percent over the past month, with a 1 percent drop in prices being a possible sign of the expected outcome of the vote.
The move follows a growing concern about “over-tourism” across the continent this summer.
Barcelona, Spain, has capped the number of short-term rentals being offered this year, and the Catalan capital’s mayor has promised to abolish them entirely by 2028.
The city has experienced a large backlash from locals, with some demonstrations seeing people chanting, “Tourists go home.”
Greece also plans to impose a 20-euro levy on cruise ship visitors to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the peak summer season.
Athens also plans to regulate the number of cruise ships that arrive simultaneously at certain destinations.
The Mediterranean nation also wants to increase a tax on short-term rentals and ban new licenses for such rentals in central Athens to increase the housing stock for permanent residents.
Venice, Italy, also began charging visitors a 5-euro-per-day entry fee for those staying just for the day and arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., in April this year.
Tourists who stay overnight in Venice hotels are exempt from the fee, but they must still register online and obtain a code to allow them to pass checkpoints and spot-checks by local officials.
In the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, officials have also approved a proposal to charge guests at hotels, B&Bs, hostels, and holiday rentals including Airbnbs 5 percent of the cost per room per night.