6th District of Capital to Vote on Airbnb Ban
A significant vote is scheduled to take place in September in District 6 of Budapest (Terézváros) regarding the short-term renting of apartments, particularly on platforms like Airbnb, as announced by the municipality of the district, according to a report by Turizmus.com.
Residents of the district will have the opportunity to express their views on the issue by answering the question: “Do you agree with banning the renting out of condominiums as Airbnb-type accommodation in District 6?”
The vote will be overseen by the municipality, under a mandate from Parliament, with the authority to restrict the number of days a property can be rented out in a year.
Mayor Tamás Soproni stated that the voting process will take place for two weeks starting from September 2, and will be open to residents aged 16 and above, both online and in person.
With currently 2,226 legal private and other accommodation facilities in Terézváros, data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on January 1, 2023, indicated 29,251 dwellings in the district, with short-term rentals representing about 7.6 percent of the total housing stock.
To aid residents in making an informed decision, the municipality is preparing a brochure outlining arguments for and against a total ban, which will be distributed to all households before the vote.
While Budapest contemplates this measure, other major cities have already taken action. Barcelona announced in June that short-term rentals will be prohibited from 2028, and New York has had Airbnb restrictions in place since September 2023, seeing the effects of the regulation already.
Despite the proposal, recent data indicates that Airbnb remains a prevailing type of accommodation in Budapest, with a noticeable improvement in accommodation revenue statistics in June. This increase is reflected in the average room rates and revenue per available room across all tourism regions.
In June 2024, 1.8 million guests stayed in tourist accommodations (commercial, private, and other) for nearly 4.2 million nights, marking an 11 percent rise in guest numbers and a 3.1 percent increase in nights compared to the previous year.
The growing popularity of short-term rentals, particularly through Airbnb, has seen a substantial increase in the availability of apartments in Budapest. Private accommodation has outpaced all other types of accommodation in revenue, up by almost 50% year-on-year.
While short-term accommodation platforms are contributing to the growth in guest numbers in Budapest, the surge is leading to price and occupancy challenges across various accommodation types.
