Hungary mulls freeze on Airbnb licences in Budapest
BUDAPEST, Oct 14 (Reuters) -Hungary's government is considering a plan to impose a moratorium on new Airbnb licences in Budapest and to raise taxes on short-term apartment rentals in the capital city, the economy minister said on Monday.
Marton Nagy announced the plans about a month after residents of Budapest's sixth district voted to ban short-term rentals from 2026, the first such ban in one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations. Some residents in European tourist hotspots blame short-term lets for driving up home prices.
In central Europe, Budapest was the most popular city for short-term stays in 2023 with 6.7 million guest nights, according to Eurostat, ahead of Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Krakow and others.
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.
"We are thinking about a possible moratorium and a tax hike in Budapest," Nagy said at a press briefing, adding that the government had not made a decision yet.
"The Airbnb market will change, and it is sure that it cannot grow further," he said, calling the issue a question of housing policy.
Nagy also said that the government was negotiating about the proposed new rules with trade organisations in the tourism industry and that changes would not affect short-term rental properties outside the capital.
In Budapest's sixth district, 54% of voters backed a ban on short-term rentals with 20.52% turnout in mid-September.
Reporting by Anita Komuves
Editing by Mark Potter
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