13 Places Cracking Down on Airbnb
While Airbnb lets travelers do some amazing things—from spending the night in Dublin's Guinness Storehouse to sleeping with sharks—not everyone is enthused about many of its variables, including turning apartments for residents into full time rentals and bringing a revolving door of travelers into previously residential buildings. As cities around the world enact regulations to keep vacation rentals' rapid growth in healthy check, here are 13 places cracking down on Airbnb—and what you need to know if you want to stay in one.
This gallery was originally published in 2016. It has been updated with new information.
GettyLos Angeles, California
The most recent city to enact strict Airbnb regulations, Los Angeles City Council passed a law in December 2018 that restricts hosts to 120 days of Airbnb-ing, and requires that they register with the city for $89 every year. Hosts can also only rent out one home—their primary residence where they spend at least six months a year. Airbnb's unique offerings are taking a hit, too. Nontraditional Airbnbs like RVs, trailers, and tents will no longer be permitted, Curbed reports. Those laws apply to all of L.A., so no more airstreams in Venice.
GettyAmsterdam, the Netherlands
For now, Amsterdammers can rent out their entire home or apartment for 60 nights out of the year, plus Airbnb collects a six percent tourist tax on all bookings for the city (just like at hotels). But, as of January 2019, that count will drop in half, to just 30 nights a year. On top of that, Airbnbs can host a max of four adults at a time, so if you've got a bachelorette party of six, you're screwed. To keep track, hosts have to register and report when travelers stay with them through the municipal government. Staying in private room, where the host is also staying in the home or apartment, is a good workaround, as they are exempt from the night counts.
GettyNew York City, New York
New York City has some of the strictest Airbnb laws in the world. In October 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a ban on short-term rentals on home-sharing sites. The fine print: Renting out an entire apartment for a stay of less than 30 days is illegal—and even advertising such a rental is illegal, with fines up to $7,500. Hosts can also only list one home, their home, at a time. Technically this rule doesn't apply to single-family homes—which, granted, are few and far between in New York—but they still have an uphill battle, including rezoning and ensuring their occupancy certificates allow rentals. And unlike most cities, there isn't a licensing program just yet—New York City is working to get hosts' data from Airbnb so that they'll know automatically who isn't playing by the rules. One type of stay that's A-OK in the eyes of the Big Apple's government? A private room.
GettyMallorca, Spain
In April 2018, the local government in Palma de Mallorca banned almost all Airbnbs from the island, Reuters reported. All Airbnb listing in apartment buildings were no longer legal, save for detached homes, as long as they aren't on protected lands or near the airport. Those that make the cut have to register with the municipal government, so look for the "License or registration number" field in the listing's description, which should include a number starting with "TI/." If they don't have this, beware that your reservation may be cancelled if the government uncovers the illegal listing.
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GettyCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston used to have a flat-out ban on Airbnbs and similar rentals—and even had enforcement teams go undercover as tourists to find illegal listings. But as of April 2018, that all-out ban lifted, and was immediately replaced with strict restrictions. The city's listings have been divided up into three categories, according to local newspaper The Post and Courier, based on how old or historically important the home is. For instance, Airbnbs in the Old & Historic Districts must be on the National Register of Historic Places to be rented out. And the rest of Airbnbs on the central Charleston peninsula must be at least 50 years old. In all cases, the host must live on the grounds, so a guest house is fine if your host is across the driveway; private rooms are also approved. Plus, only four adults can stay at a time.
As a traveler, you can tell the legit Airbnbs by their nine-digit registration numbers in the listings' description—but the city is still working on licensing, so talk to your potential host about their permit status before booking.
GettyParis, France
The City of Light is one of Airbnb's most popular destinations, with some 65,000 listings in town, according to Skift. That said, the city takes a hard line on its policies: hosts can only rent out their flats for 120 days a year, must get written approval from a landlord if they're renting themselves, and have to register with the city. (Check your listing for a license number at the end of the description.) Illegal listings are fined immensely—recently, a Parisian host was forced to pay $53,800 in fines to her landlord for listing her apartment on Airbnb for the past seven years, The Telegraph reports. But it isn't just hosts who feel the pressure of these fines. Paris has levied nearly $700,000 in fines to Airbnb itself in 2017, Newsweek reports.
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GettySan Francisco, California
Airbnb's home city has some pretty strict rental laws, as hosts have to register for both a Business Registration Certificate and a Short-Term Residential Rental Certificate from the city government, the Airbnb help site states. (That seven-digit registration number starts with STR, and is listed in the rental listing.) You can rent out your entire apartment or home for up to 90 nights a year, or an unlimited number of days if you're renting a private room. Traveling to San Francisco and want to book an Airbnb? Know you'll have to pay an additional 14 percent tourist tax, equal to the city's hotel tax.
GettyBarcelona, Spain
Barcelona requires all Airbnb and short-term rental hosts register with the city, and display their permit numbers online (it begins with HUTB, followed by six numbers). That said, the city has has a moratorium on new licenses since 2014, Quartz reports, and is focusing more on cracking down on unregistered, illegal listings than creating new ones. How are those illegal listings identified out of the city's estimated 16,000 Airbnbs? A team of 40 investigators cracks down and levies fines on illegal rental hosts, according to The Guardian.
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GettySanta Monica, California
In 2015, Los Angeles's next-door neighbor Santa Monica instituted some of the toughest laws against Airbnb in the country: It mandated that hosts will have to live on the grounds during the renter’s stay, register for a business license, and collect the city’s 14 percent occupancy tax, no matter the room, hotel, or Airbnb. Look for private rooms and entire guesthouses with registration numbers listed at the end of the Airbnb's description.
GettyJapan
That's right, the entirety of Japan. Nearly 80 percent of the country's Airbnbs were pulled off the site in June 2018, causing confusion among travelers with existing bookings, when Japan's minpaku, or home sharing, laws went into effect. Now, "hosts have to register for permission to share their home with the federal government, under the hotel and ryokan laws that promote fire and emergency safety. Hosts also won't be able to rent out their homes for more than 180 days a year," Traveler reported at the time. Today, listings display a registration code in the description box. If you stay somewhere without registration, you run the risk of your accommodation being yanked at the last minute.
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GettyNew Orleans, Louisiana
Some in the Big Easy have long questioned Airbnb, and the city currently has more than 4,000 listings. In a place where tourists outnumber residents 32 to 1, the City Council voted to ban short-term rentals in the French Quarter in 2016 (save for a small stretch along the Bourbon Street entertainment district), and to limit whole-home rentals to out-of-town guests to 90 days a year. Every host has to register their Airbnb with the NOLA municipal government, so keep an eye out for that license number here, too.
GettyReykjavík, Iceland
Tourism is booming in Iceland, so it makes sense that Airbnb would be, too. However, the practice has been regulated in Reykjavík since early 2017. People can rent out their apartments for up to 90 days per year before needing a hospitality license. They can also earn a maximum of one million Icelandic krona ($8,785) per year.
Prospective hosts also need to get their Airbnb registered, which requires meeting health and safety regulations. Your host may not list their license number publicly, so ask when you book for their registration—it'll start with "HG" and be followed by nine numbers.
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GettyLas Vegas, Nevada
There are a lot of reasons Airbnb hasn't quite been able to crack the Las Vegas market. For one, the Strip and its hotel culture are just too ingrained in the Vegas experience for home rentals off-Strip to pose much competition. But as Traveler contributing editor Mark Ellwood found, the city has also put in strict regulations to keep Airbnb at bay. Hosts must register with the city (and those with five-or-more-bedroom homes have to pay a whopping $1,000 registration fee), overnight guests are limited to 12 or fewer per home or apartment, and no new Airbnb can pop up within 660 feet of any existing listing.