Vienna is full of apartments that are regularly rented out to visitors on popular platforms like Airbnb.
In light of the growing affordable housing shortage, however, the city has been taking steps to regulate short-term rentals.
Since 2024, hosts have not been allowed to rent out apartments for more than 90 days a year.
READ ALSO: Vienna tightens rules for Airbnb rentals
And now new measures are planned, including a mandatory registry system.
Mayor Michael Ludwig announced on Monday that landlords who advertise apartments on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com will soon need to get a registration number before listing their properties.
Under the proposed rules, online platforms will have to verify registration numbers and remove listings that do not comply. Violations could result in fines of up to €50,000.
The measures form part of Vienna's efforts to address housing shortages and rising pressure on the city's rental market.
READ ALSO: Apartment scams on the rise in Austria
What else do we know about the plans?
The registration requirement is expected to be introduced later this year, although details are still being hashed out between Vienna's governing coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and Neos.
If approved, every short-term rental property would receive a registration number. Property owners would have to display this number in advertisements, and listings without a valid registration number could be removed.
The goal of the registry is also to gain a better overview of how many short-term rental apartments operate in Vienna.
The city also plans to tighten rules on buildings used for tourist accommodation. Under the proposal, at least 80 percent of a building's floor space would have to remain dedicated to residential use, except in the case of traditional hotels.
Officials also want stricter definitions for accommodation businesses, including requirements for separate entrances and minimum numbers of rooms and beds.
An agreement is expected "in the coming days," Ludwig said.
In a statement to Der Standard, Selma Arapović, of Neos, said the move to bring in a mandatory registration system was linked to EU regulations.
She added: "The coalition’s goal is to ensure that not too much housing is permanently taken off the market."
What it means for foreigners and visitors
It may mean that fewer short-term apartments in Vienna are listed online in future.
This would affect tourists, digital nomads and newcomers to the Austrian capital who rely on short-term accommodation while searching for a longer-term flat.
Property owners who rent apartments through Airbnb or similar services, meanwhile, face more requirements to keep in line with the law.
For long-term residents, authorities hope the measures will help return more apartments to the traditional rental market and improve housing availability.
READ ALSO: Why Vienna’s property market is running out of affordable homes
What's the reaction?
The Green party said the proposed rules do not go far enough.
According to Georg Prack, the Greens’ housing spokesperson, "at least 14,000 apartments in Vienna are permanently operated as tourist apartments".
In contrast, the Association of Apartment Landlords argued that 3,000 to 5,000 properties are rented out on a short-term basis.
The association welcomed the introduction of the registry,. However, it blamed the root cause of Vienna’s difficult housing market on lack of construction.
"Too few new units are being built, while the city is simultaneously experiencing strong population growth," the association said.
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