Where Airbnb is Banned Around the World
Where Airbnb Is Banned, Restricted, or Regulated — A City-by-City Guide
Last updated: May 2026
Airbnb operates in over 220 countries — but in a growing number of cities and countries, short-term rentals face outright bans, strict licensing requirements, or annual night caps that effectively limit how Airbnb can be used.
The rules vary enormously. Singapore bans short stays under three months. New York City's Local Law 18 (2023) requires hosts to be present during every guest stay — effectively ending whole-home listings. Barcelona announced in 2024 it will not renew any of its 10,000 short-term rental licences when they expire in November 2028. Amsterdam limits whole-home lets to 30 nights per year.
This guide covers the most significant bans and restrictions by city and country, explains why the trend toward regulation is accelerating, and covers what the rules look like specifically in the UK — including changes expected in 2026.
Regulations in this area change quickly. The positions below reflect the rules as understood in May 2026 — always verify current rules with the relevant local authority before making hosting decisions.
Airbnb is effectively banned or extremely restricted in Singapore (minimum 3-month stays), most of New York City (must be present, 2-guest maximum), and Barcelona (all licences expiring 2028 with no renewals). Significant restrictions exist in Amsterdam (30-night annual cap), Berlin (registration required, strict enforcement), Paris (90-day annual cap for primary residences), and London (90-day annual cap without planning permission). Japan limits registered hosts to 180 nights per year. Most countries permit Airbnb with some restrictions; few have outright national bans.
Why cities are banning Airbnb — the housing crisis, the hotels, and the neighbours
The arguments for restricting short-term rentals follow a consistent pattern across different cities and political systems. Understanding them helps clarify why the trend toward tighter regulation is unlikely to reverse.
The housing argument The primary driver behind most significant Airbnb restrictions is the claim that short-term rentals remove housing stock from the long-term rental market, increasing rents and reducing availability for permanent residents. This argument has most force in cities with severe housing shortages — Barcelona, New York, Amsterdam, and London — where a meaningful proportion of the housing stock being used for STR would otherwise provide permanent homes. The evidence for this causal link is contested by economists (most STR properties are owner-occupied homes rather than purpose-built or converted rental units) but the political argument has proven persuasive enough to drive significant regulation in all four cities.
The neighbourhood argument A secondary argument — particularly influential in residential neighbourhoods with high tourist traffic — is that concentrations of STR properties change the character of streets and buildings. Residents cite noise, the absence of stable neighbours, and the visual difference between a lived-in building and a transient one. Barcelona's Eixample and Gothic Quarter, New York's Manhattan districts, and Reykjavik's old town are frequently cited examples. This argument tends to produce geographically targeted restrictions (banning STR in specific zones) rather than citywide bans.
The hotel industry argument Hotel and hospitality industry lobbying has contributed significantly to regulatory pressure in jurisdictions where Airbnb has materially reduced hotel occupancy or pricing power. New York's hotel unions were prominent in lobbying for Local Law 18. The Spanish hotel industry association has consistently backed Barcelona's licensing restrictions. This political dynamic explains why regulatory pressure is often strongest in major tourist cities rather than rural or suburban areas.
Where Airbnb is banned or restricted — a global overview
Where Airbnb is effectively banned — the strictest markets in detail
Singapore has the most categorical prohibition on short-term letting of any major global city. Under Singapore's Planning Act, residential properties — HDB flats and private condominiums alike — may not be rented for periods of less than three consecutive months without planning approval, which is rarely granted. Enforcement is active and penalties are significant. Airbnb itself operates in Singapore and lists the rules explicitly, but the volume of legal STR listings is negligible. The policy reflects Singapore's land scarcity and its government's strong position that residential housing should be used for residential purposes. This is not a grey area — it is a clear prohibition with active enforcement.
New York City's Local Law 18, which came into force in September 2023, effectively ended the whole-home Airbnb market in most of the city. The law requires all short-term rental hosts to register with the city, be present in the property during any guest stay (no unhosted rentals), and host a maximum of two guests at a time. The registration requirement is enforced against platforms as well as hosts — Airbnb cannot process bookings for unregistered properties. The result was a collapse in NYC Airbnb listings: from approximately 22,000 active listings before the law to fewer than 3,000 within months. Local Law 18 was backed by New York's hotel unions and housing advocates, and its passage followed a decade of legal conflict between the city and Airbnb. The law is specific to New York City; New York State does not have equivalent restrictions.
Barcelona's Mayor Jaume Collboni announced in July 2024 that the city would not renew any of Barcelona's approximately 10,101 short-term tourist accommodation licences when they expire in November 2028. This effectively ends the legal STR market in Barcelona within a defined timeframe. The announcement followed years of resident and housing advocate pressure, anti-tourism protests in 2024, and a series of more targeted restrictions that had not achieved the policy goals the city sought. Barcelona's move is the most significant city-level STR restriction announced in Europe to date. The Spanish national government has also introduced measures to address STR's housing impact, and other Spanish cities including Madrid, Valencia, and Málaga have their own separate restrictions.
Major cities with significant Airbnb restrictions — the rules in each
| City | Key restriction | Night cap | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Registration required; banned in some districts entirely; must be primary residence | 30 nights/year | Heavily restricted |
| Paris | Primary residence: 90-night cap. Secondary homes: commercial registration required. Strict enforcement since 2023. | 90 nights/year (primary) | Heavily restricted |
| London | Entire home: 90-night cap without planning permission. No cap on room-in-home lets. | 90 nights/year (whole home) | Night cap applies |
| Berlin | Registration permit required (Zweckentfremdungsverbot — misuse of housing law). Whole-home lets require approval. Fines up to €500,000 for non-compliance. | No cap, but approval required | Registration required |
| Japan | Minpaku Law (2018): registration required. Maximum 180 nights per year. Local governments can restrict further — Kyoto, for example, restricts to certain districts. | 180 nights/year (national cap) | Heavily restricted |
| Vancouver | Must be principal residence. Non-conforming platforms (including Airbnb) subject to platform-level fines. STR licence required. | No fixed night cap, but principal residence required | Restricted |
| Venice | Seasonal bans in parts of the historic centre. Tourist tax and registration requirements. 2024 day-visitor charge introduced. | No national cap; local bans in historic areas | Partially restricted |
| Reykjavik | Licensing required; restrictions in some residential zones. Iceland has national framework requiring short-term let licences. | No national cap; licence required | Registration required |
Countries where Airbnb operates in a legal grey area
Thailand's Hotel Act technically requires any property offering accommodation commercially — including short-term rentals — to hold a hotel operating licence. Properties with fewer than four rooms require a small hotel licence; those with more require a full hotel licence. The cost, planning requirements, and structural specifications for a hotel licence make compliance essentially impossible for a standard residential property. This means almost all Airbnb operations in Thailand are technically illegal under the Hotel Act. Enforcement has been inconsistent — periodic crackdowns occur, particularly in Phuket, Samui, and Bangkok — but large volumes of STR continue to operate. This is a genuine grey area: the law is clear, but enforcement is not, and the situation can change without warning.
Malaysia's position is similar to Thailand's — the Tourism Industry Act and local by-laws technically require licences for commercial accommodation operations. Some strata-title apartment buildings (particularly in Kuala Lumpur) have management corporation rules banning STR, and some local councils have taken enforcement action. The practical situation varies significantly by city and property type. Enforcement has tended to be most active in Kuala Lumpur and least active in Penang and resort areas. As with Thailand, the legal position and enforcement can change; anyone intending to host in Malaysia should obtain local legal advice.
How Airbnb regulation has accelerated since 2015 — the major milestones
What UK Airbnb rules look like now — and what is changing in 2026
The UK does not have a single national STR regulatory framework — rules vary by nation and, in England, by local authority. Understanding the distinctions matters if you are considering short-term letting in the UK.
England outside London currently has no national annual night cap and no mandatory registration for short-term lets. Some local councils have introduced Article 4 directions requiring planning permission for a change of use from residential (C3) to short-term let (C3/sui generis), but these are council-level decisions rather than national policy. The UK government has confirmed a mandatory short-term let registration scheme for England is expected to begin in 2026 — this will be a registration scheme, not a licensing scheme, with lower compliance burden than Scotland's approach. No annual cap has been announced for England.
The Deregulation Act 2015 introduced a 90-night annual cap for short-term letting of entire homes in Greater London without planning permission. The cap applies to whole-home lets — renting a room in your own home is not subject to the 90-day limit. Airbnb applies the cap automatically for London listings. Hosts who want to exceed 90 nights must obtain planning permission for a change of use. Some London boroughs (Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea) have been particularly active in enforcing this through planning enforcement action.
Scotland introduced a mandatory short-term let licensing scheme from October 2022 under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act. All short-term lets in Scotland require a licence from the relevant local authority. Local councils also have discretion to designate "short-term let control areas" (Edinburgh City Centre is the most prominent example) where additional planning permission is required for new STR operations. Unlicensed short-term letting in Scotland is an offence carrying fines up to £2,500. This makes Scotland's regulatory framework the most developed in the UK.
Wales introduced a registration scheme for all visitor accommodation including short-term lets, which became mandatory in 2023. Properties must be registered with the Welsh Government's Visit Wales registration scheme. Additionally, Welsh local authorities can use Article 4 directions to require planning permission for change of use from residential to short-term let — Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority have been among the most active in doing so. The Welsh Government has also enabled councils to apply a 300% council tax premium on second homes, which affects the economics of short-term letting investment in Wales.
The questions people ask about where Airbnb is banned
England outside London has no annual cap — see what your property could earn before 2026 registration arrives
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