Global Regulatory Notes (15)

🍁SOOKE, BC🍁

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HTWXrMqfWv8?t=795

Longtime operators on southern Vancouver Island earned a reprieve after Sooke council advanced new short-term rental bylaws in a 3-2 vote on July 27 2026. The rules swap vacation accommodation wording for short-term rental and separate zoning for rentals and bed-and-breakfasts. Running both uses on a single property will no longer be allowed. Adoption is expected in September 2026.

Mike and Kathy Hicks have run a vacation rental and a three-unit bed-and-breakfast on 4.5 acres at Manzer Road for 25 years. Staff confirmed legal non-conforming status shields the business so long as licensing stays current and operations never pause for six months.

WALES

Holiday let owners in Wales could see the rules relax under a fresh review of the country's 182-day letting test. The Welsh Government opened a 12-week consultation on 31 July 2026 covering how self-catering properties are classified for local tax. Owners must currently keep a property available for 252 days and actually let it for 182 days to stay on business rates instead of council tax.

Cabinet Minister for Finance Elin Jones has floated five exemptions covering farm units and lets inside an owner's grounds as well as properties tied to a wider business or held under planning restrictions. Responses close on 23 October 2026 and any change would land on 1 April 2027.

Welsh Government to review holiday let tax rules

The Welsh Government is to review the rules that determine whether self-catering holiday lets pay business rates or council tax, including the controversial requirement for properties to be let for at least 182 days a year. A 12-week consultation launched today will examine whether the current threshold should be reduced and proposes new exemptions for […]

Nation.CymruMark Mansfield

Welsh Government review 182-day self-catering holiday home rule

A REVIEW of the contentious 182-day rule for self-catering holiday properties, which otherwise have to pay the second homes tax premium, has been launched by Welsh Government today, July 31. Self-catering properties may be subject to non-domestic rates rather than council tax, but only if they meet certain letting criteria. Since April 2023, this has […]

The Pembrokeshire HeraldBruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

SPAIN

Plans to overhaul Spain's rental market stalled on 28 July when the Cabinet postponed a vote on a draft housing decree that lacked parliamentary backing. Junts branded the proposal interventionist and demanded tax relief for small landlords while Podemos objected to land-law reforms it said would fuel speculation. Ministers now aim to revive the package in September.

https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/gobierno/councilministers/paginas/2026/20260728-council-press-conference.aspx

The decree would cap holiday lets at 31 consecutive days and raise VAT on short stays to 21%. High-demand municipalities could impose an IBI surcharge of 50% and lift it to 100% for owners of four or more tourist homes. Leases expiring before 30 June 2028 would also face a two-year freeze.

🍁WINDSOR, ON🍁

Enforcement of short-term rental rules is heading back to the council table in Windsor after Ward 4 Councillor Mark McKenzie flagged widespread circumvention of the principal residence requirement. His recent push follows repeated resident complaints about houses licensed as primary homes that sit empty between bookings.

City staff will prepare a report covering existing gaps in the by-law, verification methods, complaint numbers and penalties handed out. McKenzie has also asked administration to weigh an interim control by-law or neighbourhood-specific limits for heritage areas such as Walkerville where the problem appears most concentrated.

TURKEY

Half-price accommodation tax is now the headline measure keeping Turkey's lodging sector steady through a difficult season. Revenue for the second quarter of 2026 came in at $15.87 billion, a 2.6% decline with arrivals down 5.1%.

Turkey's Accommodation Tax Guide (2026)

Learn more

The 2% levy dropped to 1% on 1 May 2026 and stays there until 31 December 2026 unless extended with coverage spanning hotels, motels, pensions, apart-hotels and guesthouses. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy confirmed the wider 66 billion lira support programme which includes credit access and monthly wage subsidies for certified operators.

NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA

Advocates want holiday let revenue redirected into housing support as rental supply tightens across New South Wales. Homelessness NSW chief executive Dom Rowe is pushing for a 7.5% levy on short term rentals in a campaign reported on 1 August 2026.

In towns where thousands of homes are Airbnbs, renters want a tax

Homelessness NSW says it is easier to get a holiday rental than a long-term rental — and that needs to change. But the industry says those claims are unfair.

ABC NewsEmma Rennie

Nearly 50,000 short stay listings were active in the March 2026 quarter compared with 22,347 long term rentals on the market. Victoria introduced the same 7.5% rate on 1 January 2025 and sends a quarter of the proceeds to regional areas. NSW already runs a statewide register and caps non-hosted Sydney stays at 180 nights a year.

ENGLAND

Short-term rental hosts and hoteliers across England should prepare for a new overnight charge after the government moved to give holiday tax powers to all strategic authorities by 2028. The measure appeared in the Rewiring the State policy paper on 31 July and dramatically widens a levy that was previously limited to mayoral areas.

Holiday tax powers could become nationwide, UKH warns

UKHospitality has warned Government plans could expand holiday tax powers across England, increasing family holiday costs and putting 33,000 jobs at risk.

William Reed LtdPhoebe Fraser

UKHospitality argues the timing is wrong during a cost-of-living squeeze and shows its analysis pointing to 33,000 lost jobs and a £2.2 billion hit to GDP alongside £100 added to a family of four's trip. The group also proposed aalternative holiday bonus model.

🍁MONTREAL, QC🍁

Pressure is building on Montreal to loosen its short-term rental rules before the UCI Road World Championships run from September 20 to 27, 2026. A bylaw adopted last fall allows short-term rentals in residential zones only between June 10 and September 10 and only inside a host's principal residence.

Airbnb has lobbied city hall aggressively and points to a March 2026 Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton study estimating more than 19,000 missing room nights and over $12 million in lost visitor spending during race week. Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada has signaled a revised bylaw this fall that would still block commercial operators.

FRANCE

Platforms operating short-term rentals in France now face confirmed exposure to per-infraction fines after the Conseil constitutionnel rejected Airbnb's challenge on 31 July 2026. The ruling validates penalties ranging from €750 to €2,500 for each failure to declare, collect or remit tourist tax.

French Constitutional Council rejects Airbnb challenge against tourist tax | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation

MLex Summary: France’s Constitutional Council has rejected Airbnb Ireland’s constitutional challenge to a minimum fine for failing to collect France’s tourist tax, finding that the provision complies with the Constitution. Airbnb challenged a French law allowing courts to impose fines of between €750 and €2,500 on accommodation platforms that fail to collect the tourist tax from guests. The Constitutional Council said the measure pursues the constitutional objective of combating tax fraud.

Law360Employment Authority

Airbnb brought the case alongside Booking.com and Leboncoin after the Poitiers appeal court upheld an €8.6 million penalty in April 2025 sought by the Île d'Oléron authority. Booking and Leboncoin were separately fined €574,000 and €410,000.

🍁GIBSONS, BC🍁

Hosts renting property they do not live in must now join a queue before they can operate legally in Gibsons. The town has reached its 35-licence cap and opened a free email waitlist run on a first come first served basis.

Licenses do not transfer with a sale and end when ownership or the operator changes which is what frees a spot for the next name in line. Meanwhile, principal-residence hosting stays uncapped at $200 a year and allows two bedrooms while the operator is present. Two applicants were queued as of August 4.

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🎤 Episode Title: More Than a Race: How the Honda Indy is Powering Markham’s Tourism Future
🎤 Episode: Forward Motion
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In case you missed it:

Global Regulatory Notes (14)

Global STR rules. Poland mandates registration; Nazare, Portugal adds tourist tax; Thessaloniki, Greece freezes registrations; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia levies lodging tax; UK shares Airbnb data; Canada tightens BC and Ontario rules; Cyprus; Croatia; Canary Islands; Puerto de la Cruz. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsJasmine Ruth Albatana

Global Regulatory Notes (13)

Waverley, AU proposes 90-day STR cap; Vienna, Austria enforces 90-day cap, raises tourist tax; Gibsons, BC; Guelph/Eramosa, ON; Norfolk, ON; Revelstoke, BC; Saanich, BC; Tiny Township, ON; Estonia; Mackenzie, New Zealand; Jozsefvaros, Hungary; Tromso, Norway; Asturias, Spain. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsJasmine Ruth Albatana

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.

Strisker - Short-term rental and data center regulationsJasmine Ruth Albatana

Strisker Calendar Tracker

Staying ahead of STR and data center regulations isn’t just about deadlines—it’s about knowing what’s coming. Our Calendar Tracker keeps you informed on upcoming meetings, key votes, and policy changes, so you never miss a critical update.

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