Airbnb could be banned in Budapest’s Castle District: rules face major shake-up

Budapest’s 1st District (Castle District) is considering tightening its Airbnb regulations, with the possibility of banning short-term rentals altogether, according to Csilla Fazekas, deputy mayor of the district and parliamentary candidate of the governing party, who told MTI on Thursday.

Talks planned with neighbouring districts

According to the statement, Fazekas plans to initiate talks with mayors of neighbouring districts about jointly regulating—or potentially prohibiting—short-term accommodation rentals.

She noted that District VI (Terézváros) was the first area in Budapest to introduce a ban on short-term rentals.

Terézváros ban already showing effects

Referring to the consultative referendum held in Terézváros in the summer of 2024, district leaders decided to ban the operation of apartment hotels from January 2026. Since then, the issue has been placed on the agenda in several other parts of the capital.

Citing the latest January data from property portal ingatlan.com, Fazekas said noticeable changes have already appeared in the rental market of District VI. In January this year, the median monthly rent for second-hand flats in Terézváros stood at HUF 282,500 (EUR 738), representing a 1% decrease compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, the supply of rental properties in District VI rose to nearly 1,250 listings, a significant 28% increase compared to January 2025.

Rising prices in Budapest’s Castle District

As for District I, ingatlan.com found that in January 2026 the median monthly rent for second-hand flats reached HUF 300,000 (EUR 784), which is 4% higher than a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the median price per square metre of second-hand homes for sale in Buda’s Castle District increased by 15%, reaching approximately HUF 1.9 million (EUR 4,966).

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Airbnb already frozen; further tightening could boost supply

According to the property portal, opportunities to launch new Airbnb operations in District I are already effectively “frozen” due to the Budapest-wide moratorium on new short-term rentals.

Any additional district-level tightening would primarily affect existing apartment hotel operators and property owners. This, Fazekas said, would likely lead to an increase in the supply of homes available for sale or long-term rental, citing ingatlan.com’s analysis.