Global Regulatory Notes (17)

POLAND

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/8gMpjGipjjU?t=157

Poland's cabinet approved a bill on September 2, 2026 that gives municipalities, condominiums, and housing cooperatives the power to ban or restrict short-term rentals in their own communities. Drafted by Sport and Tourism Minister Sławomir Nitras to implement EU rules on rental data collection, the legislation also allows city councils to designate zones where platforms like Airbnb are prohibited or limited to a set number of days per month while housing bodies can vote to impose their own bans and give operators six months to wind down.

Autopoprawka do rządowego projektu ustawy o zmianie ustawy o usługach hotelarskich oraz usługach pilotów wycieczek i przewodników turystycznych oraz niektórych innych ustaw (druk nr 2865) - Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów - Portal Gov.pl

Rada Ministrów przyjęła autopoprawkę do projektu ustawy o zmianie ustawy o usługach hotelarskich oraz usługach pilotów wycieczek i przewodników turystycznych oraz niektórych innych ustaw (druk sejmowy nr 2865), przedłożoną przez Ministra Sportu i Turystyki.

Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów

Unregistered operators face fines up to 50,000 złoty (€11,600) while three violations within six months trigger removal from the accommodation register for one year. If parliament passes the bill and President Karol Nawrocki signs it, the ban rules would take effect on January 1, 2028.

Poland Is Preparing Restrictions on Short-Term Rentals: What Will Change

Poland is preparing new restrictions on short-term rentals. Learn more about neighbors’ rights, possible bans, and the timeline for the changes

Visit Ukraine TodayVlada Suchkova

KAMAKURA, JAPAN

A 300 yen nightly tax is coming to one of Japan's most photographed towns as Kamakura prepares to bring an accommodation tax ordinance to its city council when the regular session opens September 2 which would take effect in October 2027 across the 413 hotels, ryokan, guesthouses and simple lodging facilities operating in the city if approved. Officials expect the tax to raise around 150 million yen a year from roughly 500,000 overnight guests.

Kamakura City Accommodation Tax Proposal
Official report proposing a ¥300-per-person nightly tax from October 2027 which is expected to raise about ¥150 million annually for tourism management and visitor services.

Read here

Kamakura is far from alone since 62 areas across Japan including Tokyo now levy or plan such taxes with Kyoto already lifting its maximum rate to 10,000 yen.

EUROPEAN UNION

The European Commission is preparing a housing plan due on September 9, 2026 that would let national and local governments restrict short-term rentals and second-home purchases in areas facing acute housing pressure. Draft for the said plan says the rules would target commercial operators running multiple holiday properties while protecting people who occasionally rent out their primary residence.

The Affordable Housing Act

The European Commission is preparing the Affordable Housing Act, which aims to provide tools for Member States, regions and local authorities that they can apply to ease housing pressure in their local context.

Directorate-General for Energy

Such curbs would apply only in markets where house prices have reached at least eight times local incomes after a decade of increases and are not expected to improve within three years which captures the tourism hotspots where short-term rentals can make up 20% of housing even though they represent just 1.2% of stock across the EU. The plan will be followed in 2027 by a separate simplification package designed to cut construction red tape.

The EU draft on short-term rentals: "Possible limitations in areas experiencing housing stress." - L’Unione Sarda English

Associations protest the "Affordable Housing Act" regulation: "A business ecosystem risks receiving a fatal blow."

Unione Sarda EnglishRedazione

ESTONIA

Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs is preparing a short-term rental draft for the fourth quarter of 2026 with implementation expected in 2027 or 2028, and apartment associations are pushing to shape it before it lands. The Estonian Union of Cooperative Housing Associations wants owners' assemblies to be able to prohibit rentals through a qualified majority above 5o% of votes and ownership shares, a demand board member Urmas Mardi tied to noise and property damage from transient guests.

Minister Erkki Keldo has responded cautiously by insisting that owners must keep the right to decide how their apartments are used while Pärnu Deputy Mayor Sander Kilk proposed a 60-night annual threshold that would separate casual sharing from professional hosting. The Interior Ministry has added its own condition by asking that guest registrations be shared with security agencies.

GREECE

The Greek government has approved a housing strategy that changes how foreign investors earn residency through property with the National Strategy for Housing Policy 2026-2035 now published in the Government Gazette and introduces a Golden Visa route where investors build a portfolio of homes that must be rented to long-term tenants rather than tourists.

Short-term letting is banned for these properties and authorities will monitor how each one is used. Minimums stay at 800,000 euros in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the larger islands and 400,000 euros elsewhere.

Greece National Strategy for Housing Policy 2026–2035
Official Greek government housing strategy that shows measures to improve housing affordability and supply including a proposed Golden Visa category for multiple properties committed exclusively to long-term rentals.

Read here

Meanwhile, a Justice Ministry bill from Giorgos Floridis and Ioannis Bougas would let an apartment be listed on Airbnb only when owners holding at least 51% of the building's shares agree, with stricter limits in saturated parts of central Athens and Thessaloniki. The draft is due in early 2027 and reportedly could reach far since apartments make up over 95% of the 16,500 active listings in Athens.

Νέος νόμος για τα Airbnb: Τι λένε στο ΕΡΤnews Radio 105,8 κυβέρνηση και διαχειριστές ακινήτων - ertnews.gr

Για το νέο νομοσχέδιο που επεξεργάζεται το Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης για να εισαγάγει τον «νόμο του 51%» στις πολυκατοικίες και να ρυθμίσει για πρώτη φορά

ertnews.grΝικόλ Παπαδοπούλου

Pressure is also building from the hotel industry after Hellenic Hoteliers Federation President Yiannis Hatzis wrote to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on September 3, 2026 ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair asking for rental restrictions in areas under housing pressure along with stricter safety and hygiene standards, mandatory registry fees and tighter cross-checks between platforms and the tax authority AADE. Operators would also need to report data to ELSTAT on the same basis as hotels.

Γιάννης Χατζής: «Το 2026 θα κρίνει αν ο ελληνικός τουρισμός μπορεί να μετατρέψει τη δυναμική του σε πραγματική, καθαρή αξία για την οικονομία» - Πανελλήνια Ομοσπονδία Ξενοδόχων

Ο πρόεδρος της ΠΟΞ, Γιάννης Χατζής, μιλά στο Πρώτο Θέμα για τα όρια των υποδομών και την ανάγκη διαφάνειας στη διαχείριση των πόρων του τουρισμού.

Πανελλήνια Ομοσπονδία Ξενοδόχων - ΠΟΞeleni

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

A second Budapest district is moving toward a possible Airbnb ban as Budavár's council opens an online poll through September 30, 2026 asking residents to choose between prohibiting short-term rentals entirely and allowing them under conditions the council would set. Mayor László Böröcz said he did not want to decide over residents' heads since both tourism revenue and neighborhood peace carry weight.

Budavár District I's Short-Term Rental Information Booklet
Official Budavár municipality guide outlining the September 2026 resident vote on the future of short-term rentals including options for an Airbnb ban or locally imposed operating conditions.

Read here

The district hosts over 400 licensed short-term rentals that bring in roughly 147 million forints in annual tax revenue. With the Budapest moratorium on new registrations ending December 31, 2026, the council must adopt its own framework before new listings can return in January 2027.

🍁 NANAIMO, BC 🍁

A push to tie vacation rental permits to farm status has entered the Official Community Plan debate on Gabriola Island where the Gabriola Island Land Stewards Society is asking the Islands Trust to eliminate the three-year renewal cycle on vacation rental Temporary Use Permits for working farms. The society said that zoning which separates food producers from hay growers and formal agreements modeled on affordable housing covenants would keep the incentive from being abused.

Trustee Susan Yates opposed the idea because weaker farm status rules could open the door to speculation and she would rather keep the existing vacation rental regulations in place. Meanwhile, trust staff study vacation accommodation options ahead of the plan's second reading.

SYDNEY, AU

Airbnb hosts in the City of Sydney are facing pressure on two fronts after the council announced that lockboxes on public infrastructure will be removed from April 1, 2027 and held for 28 days before disposal while a separate motion explores suburb-level short-term rental bans. Lord Mayor Clover Moore said poles, trees and bike racks exist for everyone rather than as part of a business operation.

Property manager Krystina Cleary of Cleary & Co pushed back in a September 2 statement claiming only 2,468 of 5,454 active listings appear on the NSW register. She argues short-term rentals represent just 0.9 to 1.6% of housing stock and that enforcing the existing 180-day cap would target unscrupulous operators without punishing compliant hosts in Darlinghurst, Surry Hills and Pyrmont.

🍁 PEMBERTON, BC 🍁

A new Tourism Pemberton report suggests a visitor tax of up to 3% on hotels and short-term rentals could generate between $281,400 and $363,300 a year for Pemberton and Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Area C. The proposed Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) already funds tourism programs in Whistler and Squamish and the revenue here would be restricted to provincially approved uses ranging from trails and events to wayfinding and visitor services.

Tourism Pemberton’s MRDT Report
This report shows proposed visitor accommodation tax, projected revenues, eligible uses for the funds, and the approval process for Pemberton and SLRD Area C.

Read here

Whether it happens depends on the accommodation sector because at least 51% of eligible providers representing 51% of units must back the plan before Tourism Pemberton can seek approval from the Village and the SLRD and then the Province.

Municipal & Regional District TaxProgram (MRDT) - Destination BC

Review what the Municipal & Regional District Tax Program (MRDT) is, and how it can contribute as a source of funding in applicable situations.

Destination BC - Official Destination BC Website

📱 Social Buzz

🎤 Episode Title: Live With CDP Talk Show, Guest: Burlington, Ontario Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Season #14, Episode #42, Sept 4th, 2026
🎤 Episode: Live With CDP Sports Talk and Entertainment Talk
📻 Listen: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chris-pomay/episodes/Live-With-CDP-Talk-Show--Guest-Burlington--Ontario-Mayor-Marianne-Meed-Ward--Season-14--Episode-42--Sept-4th--2026-e3obho5

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Strisker News Tracker

Trying to keep up with STR and data center regulations across multiple cities and states? Our News Tracker makes it easier than ever. Filter by location, search a comprehensive database, and sort by impact level—this tool helps you focus on what matters most.

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