When deciding to become an Airbnb host, it is important to be familiar with laws in your city. Budapest, as one of the biggest Central European tourist destinations, is naturally no stranger to Airbnb. Using this platform can be of great advantage for the homeowners - it can notably increase the revenue during the rental period and it is quite budget-friendly for tourists. There are properties that could fit almost every budget – from low-cost studios up to luxury designer lofts. However, some of the locals afraid that this will turn their quiet residential areas into never-ending parties and ruin their tranquil family neighborhoods. Hence, more and more obstacles arise for getting an official government-issued short term rental permit.
Hungarian municipality started implementing the Airbnb regulation process in Budapest within the last two years, however, the regulations are transparent, and practically can be complied with.
When starting your Airbnb project, it is crucial to identify the regulatory borders and comply with the city’s current municipal codes. Airbnb environment is changing rapidly, therefore we recommend following municipal regulations in order to perform your activities transparent and hustle-free.
As a rule, there are three main barriers you need to overcome in order to get an official rental license.
Architect report is a written structured review done by an architect who belongs to the Hungarian Chamber of Architects. From their professional point of view, they evaluate your property’s layout, examine the facilities, and take necessary measurements. This report is only needed in districts V and VI (out of the above-mentioned selection). The approximate price of the architect's report is €550.
House consent is a wide meaning of the scope of rules established by each house. In certain districts (district V and VI from the ones listed above) your Airbnb hosting will be issued, if the majority of co-habitant residents of the building agree. The whole procedure is a lot simple in districts VII and VIII since the allowance to host Airbnb is decided in advance and valid for all. Ideally, the building rule either restricts or allows the hosting, however, the practice shows that not all of the buildings indicate their status.
Parking space fee. This is another step to getting your official hosting license granted. As soon as the house agrees to give you permission to provide hosting activity, the parking fee has to be paid as a one-time payment to the District Municipality in the amount of 1.500.000 forints in district 6 starting from the second bedroom. For example, no parking fee for a studio and 1-bedroom apartment; 2-bedroom apartment – 1.500.000 forints’ payment; 3-bedroom apartment – 1.500.000 forints’ payment; 4-bedroom apartment – 3.000.000. forints’ payment, and so on. The price of the parking duty for obtaining the hosting permission in district VII has to be paid if you decide to change the status of your asset from private property to a hostel. In this case, the fee is 1.000.000 forints according to the example described above.
District 8 is following this rule with a little difference – the payment is needed to be done starting from the third bedroom.
Getting a hosting permit in Budapest is a complex procedure, however, we can have it done with no stress for you. We’re committed to working with local Hungarian officials to help them facilitate issuing the permit for you.
Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee the 100% accuracy of these regulations. They change on a regular basis. While we constantly keep an eye on local short-term rental regulations and check for accuracy as often as we can, we still encourage you to do your own research. If you find an error, omission, or something that needs an update, kindly let us know via email
by Viktor Benke / Product Manager
