More inner-city districts in Budapest are moving to tighten Airbnb regulations, and the first effects are already visible in Terézváros.

In recent months, several Budapest districts have raised the issue of regulating short-term apartment rentals. According to local governments, the spread of Airbnb apartments has significantly reshaped the downtown housing market, making it increasingly difficult and expensive for locals to find long-term rentals.

Most recently, Budapest’s 8th district announced that it would launch a public consultation on new regulations. With the exception of the 9th district, nearly every inner-city district is now considering restrictions on Airbnb-style rentals. In addition, a moratorium on issuing permits for new apartment hotels remains in place across Budapest until the end of 2026.

Airbnb still generates far more income than long-term rentals

Despite the planned restrictions, Airbnb remains an extremely profitable business in downtown Budapest. According to a report by Ingatlan.com, landlords can still earn significantly higher revenues from short-term tourist rentals than from traditional long-term leases.

“The revenue gap is striking. In District V, a short-term rental apartment can generate around 725,000 forints per month on average, while the average long-term monthly rent is about 350,000 forints. In District VI, short-term rentals bring in around 683,000 forints monthly, compared to an average long-term rent of 280,000 forints. In District VII, Airbnb revenues are around 650,000 forints, while long-term rents average 245,000 forints. Districts VIII and IX show similar differences: income from short-term rentals can be more than double what landlords earn from long-term leases,” said László Balogh, chief economic expert at Ingatlan.com.

According to the expert, the higher revenues continue to attract investors, but operating Airbnb properties also involves substantially higher costs, more work, and growing regulatory uncertainty.

The regulation of short-term rentals has now become a key issue in almost every central Budapest district. Districts I, V, VI, VII, and VIII have all discussed stricter rules, while Budapest’s moratorium on new apartment-hotel permits remains in effect until the end of 2026. This means that no new apartments can receive accommodation-service licenses, limiting further expansion of the market.

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Rental supply surged in Terézváros, but loopholes remain

District VI banned short-term apartment rentals from January this year. Following the restrictions, the number of long-term rental listings increased by 34 percent, making Terézváros the downtown district with the largest rental supply.

Demand also strengthened. Phone inquiries related to rental apartments in Terézváros increased by 32 percent, while overall demand for rental properties in Budapest fell by 11 percent.

“The process visible in District VI suggests that when short-term rentals become less viable because of stricter regulations, some of those apartments return to the traditional rental market. If more homes re-enter the long-term rental sector, it could ease supply tensions and slow down rent increases,” Balogh added.

The average monthly rent in Terézváros currently stands at 280,000 forints, the lowest among Budapest’s inner districts. Rental prices have even fallen compared to last September, when average rents were still around 300,000 forints.

However, the restrictions have not completely eliminated short-term rentals in the district. Some property owners continue renting apartments to tourists by exploiting legal loopholes. In certain cases, apartments have been reclassified as “community accommodations,” which are not subject to the same rules as traditional Airbnb properties.

Terézváros mayor Tamás Soproni previously said that larger apartments located next to each other can relatively easily continue operating in this form. As a result, several residential buildings still struggle with tourist traffic and the problems associated with continuous short-term rentals.

Speaking to Népszava, Soproni also revealed that the local government has already carried out hundreds of inspections to enforce the ban. The district’s commercial department conducted 633 on-site inspections this year, resulting in 57 official procedures, 33 of which have already been concluded.

According to Soproni, violators can face serious fines ranging from 200,000 forints for private individuals up to 2 million forints for companies. So far, the district has imposed a total of 28 million forints in fines for breaching the ban.

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