SHORT term holiday rentals like Airbnb are to be banned in a popular tourist area in Europe next year.
Budapest has confirmed that the holiday rentals will be axed across the 6th district.
The district, Terézváros, is called Budapest’s Broadway, being home to a number of theatres as well as the Hungarian State Opera.
It is also home to Andrássy Avenue, a huge boulevard visited by tourists that is popular shopping street with restaurants and cafes.
The new rules will be introduced from January 1, 2026.
It could also be eventually rolled out to other districts.
Read more on holiday rules
Some have slammed the new rules, with one telling local media that “no-one will win with this ban” while others expressed fears it will only make hotel prices go up.
Despite opposition, the government ruled that the ban could go ahead.
In a statement, the mayor of Terézváros Tamás Soproni said: “The Supreme Court ruled today that Terézváros’s Airbnb regulation is not illegal.
“The court rejected the Government Office’s motion, meaning that the ban on short-term rentals is lawful and the regulation can come into force on January 1, 2026.”
The mayor of the 6th district added: “There are buildings where 50 per cent of all the apartments are listed as Airbnb.
“Local citizens are being driven out of the downtown area and replaced by tourists – this is not the way forward.
“If we go on like this, all downtown areas will look like a kind of Disneyland, having the same chains, attractions, restaurants – and with no local residents left.”
Tourism rentals have grown by 80 per cent since 2020, meaning there are now more Airbnbs than hotel rooms.
On average, around 40 per cent of tourists stay in a holiday rental in Budapest – higher than the average in Europe of 28 per cent.
While holiday rentals will be banned, hotels and B&Bs will not be affected.
Budapest is one of the more popular cities with Brits, who often visit for its spas and cheap holidays.
The country saw record tourism last year, with 18million visiting Hungary, a third of which visited Budapest.
This was up 24 per cent compared to 2023, meaning a faster growth than places like Barcelona.
Brits are one of the most popular tourist markets, along with Germany, Italy and the US.
And lots of cities struggling with overtourism are introducing similar holiday rental rules.
One of the strictest is Barcelona, which is set to ban all Airbnb rentals across the entire city by 2028.
Back in May, the Spanish government called for more than 65,000 holiday rentals on Airbnb to be removed.
Madrid court found that nearly 5,000 rentals in the city would be withdrawn from being on sale.
In Seville, short term home rentals can’t be more than 10 per cent of all homes in each neighbourhood.
And Majorca is stopping any new applications for holiday rentals.
Here’s a city in Europe that is banning outdoor tables at cafes and restaurants in the popular tourist areas.