Overview
- Hamburg’s parliament approved changes to its housing-protection law to curb tourist rentals and free more homes for long-term tenants.
- The city is abolishing the “Bagatellgrenze” that let owners rent up to half their home without a time limit. Permit-free short stays will now be capped at eight weeks per year.
- Under an EU regulation taking effect on May 20, 2026, booking platforms such as Airbnb must send detailed overnight-stay data to authorities, which will flag hosts who exceed the eight-week limit.
- Registration rules remain in force, so each listing still needs a housing protection number that lets officials match platform bookings to specific homes.
- Local reporting says the eight-week ceiling will be applied in practice from January 2027, a move expected to steer more visitors to hotels and boarding houses and return more flats to regular renters.