Vienna makes you register your Airbnb flat from January 2027
Vienna is tightening its rules on short-term letting again. From 1 January 2027, a flat may only be offered on Airbnb, Booking.com and similar platforms if it has first been entered in a city register. The city says too many flats are being pulled out of the ordinary rental market.
The register will be created by a new Viennese short-term letting register law, which the Landtag is due to pass in November. It builds on an EU regulation and covers both private individuals and companies. When you apply to be listed, the city checks whether anything speaks against letting that particular flat on a short-term basis. If nothing does, you receive a registration number, which is what the platforms will ask for. One purpose of the check is to make sure municipal flats never appear on the platforms.
There is a transition period, and the dates differ depending on your situation. If you already offer a flat today, you have until the end of the first quarter of 2027 to register it. If you are starting out, the requirement applies from 1 January 2027 with no grace period.
The second change targets a route people have been using to escape the rules altogether. Owners have increasingly applied to reclassify flats as tourist accommodation, which takes them outside the short-term letting rules. In future at least 80 percent of the usable floor space on standard floors must stay residential. Classic hotels, guest houses and similar businesses that employ staff are not affected.
The existing limit stays in place: without a special permit, a home may be let to guests for a maximum of 90 days a year. The city has recorded a steady stream of complaints under the rules introduced in July 2024, most of them from neighbours.
If you let a flat short-term in Vienna, or plan to, watch for the register opening around the turn of the year and apply for a number before you list. The city's opposition Greens have called the approach too cautious, arguing it still leaves room for speculation.