Global Regulatory Notes (12)
Hobart, AU bans new whole-home STRs; Murray, WA proposes unhosted STR controls; Flanders, Belgium; Hinton, AB; Kimberley, BC; Stratford, ON; Greece; Delhi, India; Indonesia; Karachi, Pakistan; Candelaria and San Bartolome de Tirajana, Canary Islands. READ MORE.
AUSTRALIA
HOBART, TAS
On June 10, 2026, Hobart's City Planning Authority endorsed a draft amendment that would prohibit new whole-home short-stay accommodation across the city's Inner Residential, General Residential and Low Density Residential zones. The amendment will undergo a 28-day public exhibition period before referral to the Tasmanian Planning Commission.
Hobart's short-term rental share represents four times Sydney's rate of around 8.8% of its private rental market with up to 840 entire homes currently listed as short-stay properties and vacancy rates sitting between 0.5% and 0.7%.
MURRAY, WA
A critical shortage of permanent residential housing in Dwellingup has prompted the Shire of Murray to propose planning controls that would prevent new unhosted short-term rentals from operating outside the town centre. The measure which is embedded in Amendment No. 329 to Local Planning Scheme No. 4 gives the Shire discretionary authority over new unhosted STR applications in the affected area while leaving existing registered properties undisturbed.
Elsewhere across the Shire, unhosted STRs would continue to be exempt from development approval under a new local planning policy. The public submission period has closed and the proposal is now proceeding through the formal approval process.
FLANDERS, BELGIUM
Amendment to the Tourist Accommodation Decree (Logiesdecreet) – Cabinet Note, Flemish Government
Official Flemish Government note outlining new registration, transparency, and enforcement measures for tourist accommodations and short-term rental platforms.
The Flemish government has approved new measures requiring tourist accommodation to carry an official registration number issued by Tourism Flanders before it can be listed on platforms such as Airbnb. The move follows inspections showing that only six in ten properties checked were fully compliant with regional rules.
Booking platforms will also be required to share listing data with Tourism Flanders to make it easier to identify unregistered operators. Local councils gain faster enforcement powers and municipal breach report will now suffice to trigger closure proceedings against non-compliant properties.
CANADA
HINTON, AB
A proposed bylaw amendment in Hinton would nearly halve the permitted number of non-principal short-term rental licenses and reduce the current cap from 130 to 70
Council passed the first reading unanimously, citing the need to balance tourism growth with local housing availability in the wake of added pressure following the 2024 Jasper wildfire. Stakeholders can present to council at a public hearing set for June 16 at the Government Centre.
KIMBERLEY, BC
Tourism Kimberley is seeking renewal of its Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) agreement ahead of the June 30, 2026 submission deadline with the current agreement expiring March 31, 2027. The organization reports support from over 90 per cent of local accommodation providers for both renewal and a proposed rate increase from 2 to 3 per cent.
Tourism Kimberley Five-Year Strategic Business Plan (DBC Template)
Tourism Kimberley links its MRDT renewal request to a new strategy aimed at growing visitation and tourism revenue.
If approved, the rate increase combined with continued tourism growth could lift annual MRDT revenues to between $400,000 and $500,000 by the end of the next five-year term which is up from approximately $280,000 today.
STRATFORD, ON
A public consultation is underway in Stratford on the allocation of revenues generated by the city's 4% municipal accommodation tax on short-term rental stays which has been in effect since 2023. Residents can submit responses until June 24.
Municipal Accommodation Tax Policy Survey
By engagestratford.ca and until June 24
While 50% of net proceeds flow to Destination Stratford as required, the city is now building policy around how the other half will be spent.
GREECE
Greece's Council of State has taken under advisement 11 petitions seeking to ban short-term rentals from Athens' historic Plaka neighbourhood with a ruling expected within months. The Hellenic Society for the Environment and Culture filed the petitions and argued that operating tourist accommodation in Plaka violates zoning laws that ban commercial hotels in the area and restrict land use almost exclusively to residential.
Approval of Minutes II of the Tender Evaluation Committee 1/2020
Ministry of Culture records underscore Plaka’s long-standing protected status as legal challenges to short-term rentals move through Greece’s top court.
A ruling against the rentals could prompt closures across other protected zones in Athens and beyond that will set a legal precedent for how platforms like Airbnb are regulated throughout Greece's historic districts.
DELHI, INDIA
DD India footage of the deadly Malviya Nagar hotel fire that killed 21 people
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0wdSEkcDlc
A catastrophic hotel fire in Delhi last June 3 has prompted an immediate policy overhaul for the city's short-term rental sector and made the tourism minister withdraw the Bed and Breakfast accommodation policy. 21 people died at an unregulated Malviya Nagar property that lacked fire safety clearance and operated beyond its legal occupancy limit.
Licensed hotels and guest houses now face intensive safety audits and authorities are reviewing compliance across the sector. Proposed policy revisions would introduce stricter eligibility criteria and mandatory third-party inspections before any accommodation license is issued.
INDONESIA
A technology-driven crackdown on unlicensed short-term accommodation is underway in Indonesia with the Ministry of Tourism developing an API-based system to automatically verify whether villa and alternative lodging operators hold valid business licenses before their listings appear on OTA platforms. The initiative involves nine platforms including Airbnb, Agoda and Expedia, and is set to be fully operational by July 2027.
Indonesia is moving to ensure all accommodations listed on OTA platforms are properly licensed
Watch: https://youtu.be/9UUI2jFjcT8?si=xQI0IKAy7DG3G7Ue
Operators identified among the roughly 1,600 unlicensed listings currently on OTA platforms will have a two-month window to obtain the necessary permits before facing delisting with enforcement beginning August 1, 2026.
KARACHI, PAKISTAN
Overview of KMC's proposed 1% entertainment tax on hotels, guest houses, marriage halls, and Airbnb properties, ahead of a June 10 public hearing.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43a3DIVZp5Y
As part of a broader entertainment tax targeting Rs1 billion in yearly revenue, Karachi's municipal authority is moving to introduce a 1% levy on bills generated by short-term rental operators including Airbnb properties and guest houses. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation held a public hearing on June 10 before advancing the proposal through its next budget cycle.
The measure would be KMC's second major revenue expansion since MUCT took effect in July 2024 which currently generates around Rs4 billion annually. Opposition Leader Saifuddin Advocate stopped short of opposing the new tax and instead pressing Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab to demonstrate what infrastructure improvements MUCT revenues have delivered before seeking additional funds from residents.
SPAIN
CANDELARIA, CANARY ISLANDS
A compliance review covering nearly 650 registered holiday homes was approved by the Candelaria Town Council last May 28 as response to Canary Islands Law 6/2025 of December 10 which requires municipalities to implement tourist housing controls within eight months of enactment.
A municipal census that was built from Ministry of Tourism data will underpin the review, with each property assessed for urban planning permits, occupancy licenses, and activity declarations over a maximum 4-year plan period. A weekly monitoring committee will issue favorable or unfavorable compliance reports for every listed property.
SAN BARTOLOME DE TIRAJANA, CANARY ISLANDS
The urban planning department of San Bartolomé de Tirajana launched a prior public consultation on June 5 to seek community input before drafting a Provisional Municipal Ordinance on Holiday Housing Use in Consolidated Urban Land. The consultation runs for 15 working days and is open to any individual or legal entity.
The ordinance is specifically limited to holiday homes in consolidated urban areas and is being developed independently of the municipality's existing provisional ordinance on tourist and residential uses. It is intended to bring local regulations into alignment with the Canary Islands Law on Sustainable Planning of Tourist Housing Use.
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