Global Regulatory Notes (20)
Cities address STRs. Western Australia weighs strata vote; Spain adds 10% VAT; Norway sets 3% charge; Finland drafts tax; Canary Islands, Spain rejects bill; Bowen Island, BC adopts 3% tax; Budapest, Hungary backs ban; Barcelona, Spain advances surcharge; Oro-Medonte, ON; Ibiza, Spain. READ MORE.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Strata owners in new apartment complexes would have to vote on whether to allow short-term rentals as one of their first decisions after occupation with no option to change it later under Phase Two of the state's five-year review of the Strata Titles Act 1985 which opened for public comment on October 15 and closes November 26.
Planning Minister John Carey said the vote aims to end long by-law disputes while Shadow Planning Minister Neil Thomson said owners have waited 17 months for a review due from May 2025.
Check on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reel/4771491143081869
SPAIN
Holiday homes rented for 30 days or less will add 10% VAT to guest invoices from December 1 after the national government approved a housing decree that treats these rentals as a business so hosts must file quarterly VAT returns starting in January 2027 while rooms, whole primary homes and stays over 31 days are exempt.
Spanish Tax Agency: Official 2026 VAT updates and new tax rules
The rate fell from a proposed 21% while Congress still has to validate the decree and a Socialist MP estimates the tax will raise about €100 million a year from more than 26,000 registered Balearic holiday homes.
NORWAY
Paid short-term stays such as holiday homes and apartments can carry a 3% charge on the price before VAT from 2027 in municipalities that show high tourism pressure under the national visitor contribution law which took effect July 1. Each municipality needs ministry approval for a plan that spends the money on facilities such as toilets, trails and parking, and it may apply the charge for only part of the year.
Sigve Olsen
Tromsø has voted to adopt the charge from 2027 pending government approval while Vestvågøy has approved its spending plan as other Lofoten municipalities coordinate.
FINLAND
Municipal tourist taxes of 2% to 5% of the accommodation price before VAT would apply to short-term paid stays under legislation the Ministry of Finance is preparing, letting each council decide whether to adopt the tax and where to set the rate. Finnish and international travelers would both pay and the revenue would stay with the collecting municipality.
Sigve Olsen
Vestvågøy Municipality outlines plans for a 3% tourist accommodation tax from 2027, coordinated with other Lofoten municipalities to fund tourism infrastructure and visitor facilities.
The law is meant to take effect in 2027 although collection could not start until 2028. Unlike Norway's fixed 3% charge, it works as a general municipal tax rather than one tied to a tourism spending plan.
CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN
Canarian lawmakers refused to admit for processing a PSOE bill on residential use in tourist areas on October 14 as CC, PP and AHI voted no and ASG abstained while PSOE, NC-bc and Vox backed a text that would have recognized existing homes on plots classified as tourist or mixed and redefined tourist accommodation units.
Canary Islands Parliament Rejects PSOE Bill on Residential Use in Tourist Areas
Parliamentary debate on the PSOE proposal to recognize existing homes in tourist-designated areas rejected by lawmakers on October 14, 2026.
The PP said the regional government's own reforms end expropriation and ex officio inspections while allowing complexes to convert to residential use and safeguarding regulated vacation rentals. Vox put affected owners at 70,000 and an earlier citizens' initiative with more than 22,000 signatures was rejected.
🇨🇦 BOWEN ISLAND, BC 🇨🇦
A 3% Municipal and Regional District Tax on short-term rental stays will begin on June 1, 2027 after the municipality secured majority support from large accommodation providers to adopt the tax. Planning manager Daniel Martin told council on Tuesday that four of six large operators representing 22 of 36 units had signed on to the provincially administered tax at its maximum rate.
Revenue will be split evenly between tourism and affordable housing with about $110,000 expected in the first year and roughly $47,000 going to each after about $16,000 in administration costs.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Residents of the 1st District known as the Castle District backed a complete short-term rental ban as 58.5% of participants voted for the ban in an online consultation that drew about 4,500 of 21,450 eligible residents. District Mayor László Böröcz said a regulatory framework will be drafted from the results and an impact assessment since the moratorium on new registrations expires at the end of this year.
Stanisław Kaleta
BBJ
District 13 closed its consultation on draft rules on October 2 with no outcome yet while District 8 expects a decision before the end of October.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Property tax surcharges of 50% for one tourist apartment, 100% for two or three and 150% for four or more moved forward when the city council's Economy and Finance Committee backed a sliding-scale IBI surcharge on October 9. Initial approval goes to an extraordinary council meeting with a final vote at the ordinary session in December.
If adopted under the national housing decree for stressed markets, the surcharge would first be charged on December 31, 2027. The city has 10,627 tourist apartment licenses which it plans to abolish by 2028.
🇨🇦 ORO-MEDONTE, ON 🇨🇦
Licensing rules for short-term rentals face a court challenge after the Oro-Medonte Association for Responsible STRs and three individuals filed an application to quash the township's licensing bylaw on October 2 with a video hearing set for July 13, 2027. The group argues the bylaw illegally ties licenses to site-specific zoning even though the Ontario Land Tribunal and Divisional Court found short-term renting legal under zoning bylaw 97-95.
Casey Brooks
Eight appeals went to the tribunal in August over the township's July refusal to rezone seven properties alongside a judicial review application, while township officials declined to comment.
IBIZA, SPAIN
Tourism planning, the fight against illegal tourist rentals and the Tourism Areas Intervention Plan (PIAT) are on the agenda for the 12th Ibiza Holiday Rental Congress on October 27, organized by holiday rental association AVAT and small business group Pimeef. Island Council First Vice-President Mariano Juan will present on managing tourist accommodation places, regulatory challenges and future scenarios for holiday rentals.
Maicey Navarro Griffiths
Island Council President Vicent Marí will help open the event which also features panels on family tourism, sustainability, market data from AirDNA and Holidu, and the use of artificial intelligence.
📱 Social Buzz
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Labour continues its devastation of the hospitality sector via holiday cottages tax-raid plan. John Healey’s proposal to treat vacation rentals as second homes will force many to sell up, warn tourism bosses:https://t.co/8gZhbFjJYN
— Frank Verity (@VerityFran29594) October 15, 2026
Paniki nie ma. Zapytałam 5 firm działających jako profesjonalne podmioty w short term rental apartamentów w Polsce co przewidują jeśli chodzi o zmiany. Czy rynek się zmniejszy? A może już teraz właściciele wycofują lokale z najmu turystycznego? https://t.co/bphCdNBwRq
— MarlenaKosiura (@KosiuraMarlena) October 15, 2026
Monaco has now given le Rocher its own legal framework, with new powers over property sales, land use, heritage protection, and short-term rentals.https://t.co/3NUCGtaPsm
— Monaco-Matin in English (@Monaco_matin_En) October 14, 2026
Since 20 May 2026, a short-term rental platform has to check the registration number on your listing. 🏠
— Bitsa (@Bitsa_card) October 14, 2026
The EU regulation behind it does not create that registration. Each country decides whether to run a scheme at all, and where one exists the platform verifies your number… pic.twitter.com/BTGub3TZQe
Short-term rental rules are on the ballot in View Royal. @Adam_Stirling explores candidates clashing over each others records and discussing regional traffic woes in the CFAX mayoral debate today. #yyj #BCPoli
— CFAX 1070 Victoria (@cfax1070) October 14, 2026
Hour two: https://t.co/qsoX9aV5L8
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