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Budapest district mayor shares further details about possible Airbnb ban from September
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We reported that a Budapest downtown district, Terézváros, is planning a local referendum in September about banning Airbnb in the district. If the locals vote for the ban, the drastic measure would be a first in Hungary. Szeretlek Magyarország asked Tamás Soproni, the re-elected mayor of Terézváros (6th district), about what Airbnb users, owners and locals should know about the referendum.
Budapest district may ban Airbnb in weeks
According to Szeretlek Magyarország, 8% of the apartments in Terézváros are short-term rentals, while that number in Budapest is 14 thousand. That is the official data. In practice, the local government discovered multiple illegal “Airbnbs” in a May probe.
Meanwhile, the local government’s revenue from the sector reached EUR 1.77 million, which is considerable. Critics say that Airbnb increases rental prices. Others argue that the Airbnb sector provides work for lots of people and has benefits concerning tourism development. Meanwhile, Airbnb apartments are out of the housing market, which results in sky-high rental prices.
Mr Soproni promised to share information and pro-contra arguments with every household. As a result, locals can make responsible decisions. Moreover, they plan online campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. They will also organise a conference to hear lobbyists and experts.
Government office made Terézváros abolish another Airbnb decree
Terézváros tried another way before. They wanted to limit the number of opening days to 0 of those Airbnb apartments that local families found problematic. However, the government office called them to abolish the relevant local decrees because they were against the law.
I’ll be voting NO.
Although I dislike AirBnBs, they are not problematic in my building but, more importantly, this is a matter for each condo to decide, not the government.
Soproni is just mad that there are many “illegal” rentals so he’s not getting the cream from them also.
Agree with Steiner, this is a haz issue and suggests a need for the VI District Council to promote regulations and enforce compliance; also ignores the flow on effect to related service providers.
Surely this is not a ‘shake down’ by the hotel sector managing a competitive threat?