Top Cities Where Airbnb Is Legal or Illegal

Airbnb, the online service that lets people rent out all or part of their homes for extra income, has become a huge hit with budget-conscious travelers since its debut in 2008. For cities around the world, however, it has raised a number of controversial issues.

Some cities complain that Airbnb and other short-term rental services have exacerbated local housing shortages or brought swarms of noisy tourists into formerly quiet residential neighborhoods. Others worry about unfair competition with hotels or the effect on their tax revenues. As a result, many cities have attempted to crack down, some more dramatically than others. Here is where things stand today in eight major cities.

Paris

Paris is one of the largest markets in the world for Airbnb, with more than 60,000 apartments on offer. But its success there has not been without controversy.

In 2015, the government cracked down on secondary apartments in Paris set up specifically as short-term rental units, with violators facing fines of up to 25,000 euros (€25,000).

In 2017, Paris began to require Airbnb landlords with certain types of properties to register their homes and display the registration number in their ad listings. In 2019, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, citing concerns that the proliferation of Airbnb listings in the city threatened to turn it into an "open-air museum," announced her plans to impose a €12.5 million fine on Airbnb for unregistered ads.

Paris, along with other cities in France, has continued to tighten its laws. Since 2021, for example, all Airbnb listings for entire homes that are available for short-term rentals must now display a registration number. Different rules apply to longer-term rentals and to private rooms within primary residences.

Barcelona

In May 2018, the Spanish coastal city instructed Airbnb to remove 2,577 listings that it found to be operating without a city-approved license, or face substantial fines. The following month Airbnb and the city entered into an agreement giving local officials access to listings data. According to Bloomberg, "For the first time, city officials will be able to refer to host data that details specifically where apartments are located and who their registered hosts are, something that could previously require substantial investigation."

Today the rules require that anyone who rents out "an immediately available living space repeatedly to paying guests for short term stays" must register it as a tourist accommodation. To ferret out violators, the government has set up a website where people can check Airbnb addresses to determine whether they are registered and, if not, report them to authorities.

Berlin

German officials, placing some blame on Airbnb for Berlin's increasing rents and housing shortages, passed a law in 2014 banning short-term rentals that had not received explicit permission from the Berlin Senate. Prospective landlords could apply for a permit to rent out their properties for periods shorter than 60 days, but officials vowed to reject 95% of those applications under the 2014 law.

However, in March 2018, the city's assembly overturned that law. The ruling meant that owner-occupiers could rent out their primary homes without time restrictions after obtaining a permit from city officials, and could rent out second homes for up to 90 days each year.

Berlin revised its law in 2021, requiring that by March 1, 2023 all Airbnb listings provide a registration number or contact details.

Amsterdam

In February 2015, Amsterdam announced a cooperative effort with Airbnb in which the city would levy a tourist tax on rentals while Airbnb informed potential hosts of all rules and regulations. However, in 2018, Amsterdam limited short-term rentals to 30 days a year, halving its previous limit.

Since April 1, 2021, an Airbnb host must obtain both a registration number and a permit for a vacation rental in Amsterdam. There are also strict rules about how they can operate their property, subject to stiff fines for violations.

London

Londoners interested in renting out their properties on Airbnb have benefited from an amendment to the city's housing laws (which passed Parliament in March 2015), allowing homeowners to rent out their house, apartment, or spare rooms for up to 90 nights a year.

Today Airbnb is booming in London, with more than 69,000 listings as of September 2022.

New York City

Under New York City law, "Hosts (whether owners or tenants) cannot rent out an entire apartment or home to visitors for fewer than 30 days, even if the host owns or lives in the building. This applies to all permanent residential buildings regardless of the number of units. Short-term rentals are only permitted if the host is staying in the same unit or apartment as the guests, and there are no more than two guests staying with the host."

Not every New Yorker followed the law, however, and the city estimated that as of March 2023 there were some 10,800 Airbnb listings for illegal short-term rentals.

Airbnb, which characterized the law "a de facto ban on short-term rentals," challenged it in court in June 2023. After that lawsuit was dismissed, the city announced plans to proceed with enforcing the law, effective September 5, 2023.

According to a New York Times report, "The move is expected to lead to the removal of thousands of listings" from Airbnb and similar platforms.

San Francisco

In San Francisco, short-term rentals are allowed only if hosts are full-time residents who live in the unit for at least 275 days a year, which allows them to rent it out for no more than 90 days in total. In addition they must obtain both a business registration certificate and a short-term rental registration certificate. Violators are subject to a fine of $484 at least a day. However, despite these stipulations, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2015 that only a fraction of Airbnb hosts were actually complying with the law.

Investigations in 2019 found that as many as half those applying for a short-term rental permit in San Francisco lied on their applications, mostly claiming falsely to be a resident of the home they were renting out.

Furthermore, as in other cities, Airbnb faces mounting criticism from housing activists who blame the site for reducing the already scant supply of housing and contributing to San Francisco's much-publicized homelessness problem.

Santa Monica, Calif.

This Southern California city effectively wiped out 80% of its Airbnb listings by instituting some of the toughest regulations on short-term rentals in the United States. The city said it was spurred by overall increases in housing prices and a dwindling housing supply.

The new rules, which have been in effect since June 2015, require anyone offering rentals of 30 days or less to live on the property during the renter's stay. They must also register with the city and obtain a business license that authorizes what it calls "home sharing."

In 2019, the City of Santa Monica reached an agreement with Airbnb in which the company agreed to remove illegal short-term listings from its website. As of 2019, the city had only 351 registered short-term rental properties, mostly with Airbnb.

The Bottom Line

Airbnb is no stranger to criticism. While supporters argue that it allows travelers to find more affordable lodging, opponents accuse it of reducing the housing supply and disrupting the quality of life in some neighborhoods.

Cities have taken a wide range of approaches to dealing with Airbnb and similar services, so any prospective host needs to know the laws for their city and to keep an eye out for changes to them in the future.