Short-Term Rental Regulations
Understand how short-term rental laws and regulations affect long-term renters in cities and countries around the world.
Country Overviews
Thailand
Thailand's national Hotel Act effectively requires short-term rental operators to hold hotel licenses, though enforcement is inconsistent and dedicated STR legislation has been discussed but not enacted.
Spain
Spain devolves short-term rental regulation to its autonomous communities, creating a patchwork of rules that vary dramatically from Barcelona's near-ban to more permissive approaches in other regions.
United States
The United States has no federal short-term rental law, leaving regulation to states and municipalities, producing a highly fragmented system ranging from near-bans to minimal oversight.
France
France has built one of Europe's most detailed national frameworks for short-term rental regulation, giving municipalities strong tools including registration systems, night caps, and change-of-use requirements.
Japan
Japan's Minpaku Law provides a detailed national framework for short-term rentals with a 180-day annual cap, while empowering local governments to impose even stricter restrictions.
Germany
Germany empowers its federal states and municipalities to restrict the conversion of residential housing to short-term rental use through Zweckentfremdungsverbot (misuse prohibition) laws.
Netherlands
The Netherlands allows municipalities to set their own short-term rental rules, with Amsterdam leading the way with some of Europe's strictest night caps and zonal bans.
Australia
Australia's short-term rental regulation is primarily a state-level matter, with New South Wales leading through its mandatory registration system and day caps, while other states take varying approaches.
Canada
Canada's short-term rental regulation is driven primarily at the municipal level, with major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal each implementing distinct registration and licensing systems.
Portugal
Portugal's Alojamento Local regime provides a national registration system for short-term rentals, with recent reforms suspending new licenses in housing-pressure areas and empowering condominiums to restrict STR activity.
City Regulations
Bangkok
Bangkok's short-term rental market operates in a legal grey area shaped by the Hotel Act, with limited enforcement and rapid growth.
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur's short-term rental market is largely shaped by strata management rules and local council guidelines rather than a single national STR law.
Lisbon
Lisbon has implemented some of Europe's most aggressive short-term rental restrictions, including a ban on new licenses in key neighborhoods and a host registration system.
Barcelona
Barcelona has taken an aggressive stance against short-term rentals, announcing plans to eliminate tourist apartment licenses entirely and actively cracking down on illegal listings.
Dubai
Dubai has established a formal licensing system for short-term rentals through the Department of Economy and Tourism, making it one of the most regulated STR markets in the Middle East.
London
London enforces a 90-night annual cap on short-term rentals in residential properties, one of the clearest day-limit rules in any major city.
New York
New York City enacted Local Law 18 in 2023, one of the strictest short-term rental registration systems in the world, effectively banning most unhosted entire-apartment rentals.
Paris
Paris enforces a 120-night annual cap on primary residence rentals and requires registration for all short-term rental properties, with fines up to EUR 50,000 per listing for violations.
Tokyo
Tokyo operates under Japan's national Minpaku Law, which caps short-term rentals at 180 days per year, with some wards imposing even stricter local limits.
Bali
Bali's short-term rental regulations are evolving, with government efforts to formalize villa and homestay licensing amid a massive and largely informal tourism accommodation market.
Berlin
Berlin enacted the Zweckentfremdungsverbot (misuse prohibition law) to ban the conversion of residential housing to short-term rental use without a permit, with substantial fines for violations.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam has progressively tightened its short-term rental rules, reducing the annual night cap from 60 to 30 days and banning vacation rentals entirely in parts of the city center.
Singapore
Singapore effectively prohibits short-term rentals in most residential properties, enforcing a minimum stay period of three consecutive months for private residential units.
Miami
Miami's short-term rental regulations vary sharply by zone and are shaped by a conflict between state preemption laws and local attempts to restrict STR activity.
Sydney
Sydney operates under New South Wales state rules that cap unhosted short-term rentals at 180 days per year, with a mandatory registration system and fire safety requirements.
Melbourne
Melbourne's short-term rental market operates under Victoria's state-level regulatory framework, which includes owner-corporation powers to limit STR activity in apartment buildings.
Toronto
Toronto requires short-term rental registration and limits entire-home rentals to the host's principal residence, with a 180-night annual cap and mandatory licensing.
Prague
Prague has seen a dramatic expansion of short-term rentals in its historic center, with the city pushing for stronger national legislation to regulate the growing market.
Budapest
Budapest has introduced registration requirements and local tax obligations for short-term rentals, with certain districts imposing additional restrictions to protect residential areas.
Istanbul
Istanbul's short-term rental market operates under Turkey's tourism accommodation laws, with increasing government attention to registration and tax compliance.