Will Airbnb ban in Budapest district spread? Here are the mayors’ replies
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Terézváros, Budapest’s 6th district, banned Airbnb in a referendum held in the first two weeks of September. Alexandra Szentkirályi, the head of Orbán’s Fidesz in Budapest, said there should be a Budapest or even national-level solution concerning short-term rentals, and they should follow the example of the 6th district. Experts believe that banning or limiting short-term rentals would harm tourism. Will downtown Budapest mayors restrict or ban Airbnb following the example of the 6th district?
According to 24.hu, Momentum Mayor Tamás Soproni was surprised to hear that Szentkirályi suggests a similar solution in Budapest or even in Hungary, like in Terézváros. Only 20.5% of the citizens participated in the local referendum, and the triumph of the ban supporters was thin: only about 54% voted for limiting the number of short-term rental days in Terézváros in 0. Concerning the numbers, the difference between the Airbnb supporters and those rejecting it was only around 450. As a result, Terézváros will ban short-term rentals on 1 January 2026. We detailed the referendum in THIS article.
Will Airbnb ban spread in Budapest?
Mayor Soproni said he resides in short-term rentals abroad but voted for the ban in Terézváros. He believes it will help with the housing crisis, hitting typically the downtown districts of Budapest. Index.hu asked Mr Soproni about a favourable national solution. The mayor said he would have supported the Airbnb/owner scheme because short-term rentals increase rental and property prices.
Gergely Hanti, the editor of bnbinfo.hu, slammed Soproni for not setting a validity threshold and said a total ban in Budapest would harm Hungary’s developing tourism sector. That is because International Research shows tourists residing in short-term rentals spend more in the catering and retail units. Furthermore, most Airbnb tourists would not come to Budapest. Instead, they would choose Prague or Cracow.
Following the Terézváros referendum, the main question is the other mayors’ thoughts and plans on the issue. Krisztina Baranyi, the mayor of Ferencváros (9th district), wrote that she did not find a total ban a good solution.
Thousands of Budapest short-term rentals will be out of the market in 2026
Péter Niedermüller, the mayor of the 7th district, hosting Budapest’s famous party districts with its popular ruin pubs, agreed with Baranyi that a general ban was not a favourable solution to the problem. Despite hosting the highest number of Airbnbs in Budapest, they are not considering a referendum. Niedermüller said they would like to keep the power of decision in the hands of the local governments instead of the Orbán cabinet, a solution Szentkirályi talked about. In Budapest’s 7th district, more than 4,400 short-term rentals operate currently. In the 6th district, that number is at 2,700.
What VI housing crisis and where is the evidence of analysis and numbers on housing VI?
This sounds more like a shakedown of Air BnB and short term rentals for hotels &/or the VI mayor passing on responsibility for related issues to a minority of VI district house owners?
The VI merely needs to have good regulation communicated and acted upon by Air BnB etc. managers, house owners, house reps and body corporate or house committees; and ensure compliance?
Noto going to happen and is a metapho for Hu gary’s current probelms inc. lack of middle class empowerment and responsibility, but one can understand such simple issues of analysis, management and problem solving are beyond majority of Hungarian fuedal and corrupt ‘middle class elites’? Or simply emigrate……