Poland Prepares a Short-Term Rental Register

Poland’s government has approved a bill that would classify short-term apartment rentals as accommodation services, create a national register and introduce fines of up to PLN 50,000. The requirements would affect properties advertised through Airbnb, Booking.com and other channels, but they are not yet in force: the measure must pass parliament, receive presidential approval and be officially published.

The Cabinet approved a bill rather than a final law

Poland’s Council of Ministers adopted the proposal on July 14, 2026. Reuters reported that the government intends to formalise a market previously supervised through fragmented municipal records and general hospitality rules. The bill will now be considered by the Sejm and Senate.

Owners are not required to comply with all of the proposed national obligations solely because the Cabinet approved the text. Under the current version, the main provisions would apply 14 days after the enacted law is published.

The legislation amends Poland’s rules on hotel services, tour leaders and tourist guides. The government presents it as a way to establish comparable conditions for hotels, professional apartment operators and individuals renting out one home occasionally.

Stays of up to 30 days would become accommodation services

The bill defines short-term rental as the provision of an apartment or other unit for no more than 30 days. It would be treated as an accommodation service even when the host is not registered as a business and rents out only one property.

The change is significant for owners who have regarded nightly letting as an ordinary private lease. The nature of the service would become more important than the host’s formal status: a furnished unit is supplied to a guest for a limited period comparable with a hotel or guesthouse stay.

The rules would cover homes marketed through Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, direct websites and other channels. Changing platforms would not remove the registration obligation because the legislation applies to the service itself.

Conventional leases used for permanent residence should not automatically fall under hospitality regulation. Authorities will nevertheless need to distinguish tourist accommodation from monthly rentals and temporary housing for students, business travellers and relocating workers.

All properties would enter a national register

The reform would establish the Central Register of Tourist Accommodation Facilities. It is intended to include hotels, guesthouses, apartments and private homes that may currently appear only in local databases or operate without registration.

Each unit would receive an individual identification number. Information would also remain available to municipal authorities, allowing them to inspect properties, process complaints and enforce local requirements.

The national database is intended to reduce unregistered activity and establish how many short-term units operate, where they are located and who is responsible for them.

Registration would not amount to a government guarantee of quality or investment returns. It would confirm that the property may operate in its declared category as long as it continues meeting safety and local rules.

Registration numbers would become mandatory in listings

Hosts would have to display their registration number in every advertisement. Online platforms would need to adapt their interfaces so that the identifier appeared with the property description.

European Union rules require platforms to prevent publication without a number where a mandatory registration scheme applies. Services must conduct regular random checks and report invalid numbers, incorrect declarations and misuse of another property’s identifier.

Authorities would be able to order the removal of a listing when the number is missing, suspended, invalid or used improperly. The host would remain primarily responsible for the information submitted.

For owners, the ability to accept reservations would therefore depend on more than a platform’s internal policies. An outdated record or municipal suspension could interrupt sales across several websites at once.

Platforms would submit monthly activity data

EU Regulation 2024/1028 has applied since May 20, 2026. It creates a common system for collecting and exchanging information on short-term accommodation and applies to platforms regardless of where they are established.

Large services must submit monthly information including booked nights, guest numbers, countries of residence, the exact property address, registration number and listing link. Small and micro platforms averaging fewer than 4,250 EU listings per month may report quarterly.

Poland’s register would provide the national infrastructure needed to use these reports. Without common identifiers, authorities cannot easily determine whether several advertisements relate to one unit or whether a host is authorised to operate.

The EU regulation does not impose a general ban on short stays. It harmonises transparency, while market access, safety and zoning remain primarily national and local responsibilities.

Each apartment would need operating rules

Every unit would need written house rules covering guest conduct and safety. The document must include contact details for the owner or manager who can respond to emergencies, noise complaints and other problems.

Hosts would declare compliance with sanitary and fire safety requirements. The government says the standards will reflect the realities of residential buildings so that an ordinary apartment is not automatically treated like a large hotel.

The rules must also incorporate safeguards protecting children from sexual abuse, extending obligations already applied in Poland’s hospitality sector.

Detailed implementing rules will be important for owners of older properties. Vague standards could lead municipalities to interpret alarm systems, escape routes, occupancy limits and building conditions differently.

Fines could reach PLN 50,000

Operating without registration, lacking a required classification or misleading customers about a property’s category could result in an administrative penalty of up to PLN 50,000, equivalent to about €11,550 or $13,200 when the reform was announced.

Repeated breaches of public order or safety could lead to removal from the register. A deleted property could not be registered again for one year.

Removal would effectively suspend lawful short-term activity because platforms should not accept listings with an invalid registration number. Continued operation could expose the host to further penalties.

The maximum fine would not necessarily apply to every technical error. The eventual enforcement approach will depend on the seriousness and duration of the breach and on administrative practice after the law enters into force.

Residents could request inspections

Apartment residents, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives would be able to ask the municipality to inspect a unit used for tourist accommodation.

Repeated noise, threats to safety, damage to shared areas and breaches of house rules could trigger an inspection. Preventing access or failing to correct violations could lead to removal from the municipal register.

Neighbours would not obtain an automatic veto simply because they object to tourists in the building. Authorities would need to establish a breach and issue an administrative decision that the host could challenge.

The government describes the system as a balance between an owner’s ability to use property and residents’ right to live normally in their building. It has stated that repeated interference with domestic peace may justify ending the activity.

Municipal powers would remain contested

The proposal would allow municipal councils to designate zones where short-term stays could be offered only by formally classified hotels, guesthouses and comparable establishments. This could restrict private tourist apartments in the most heavily affected districts.

The Cabinet was divided over whether those powers went far enough. Funds and Regional Policy Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz filed the only formal dissent, arguing that local governments were not receiving a genuine ability to create Airbnb-free areas and that residents had too little influence over neighbouring apartments becoming tourist accommodation.

The dispute indicates that the current reform focuses more heavily on registration and supervision than on reducing supply. Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Sopot and other destinations would gain better market information, but their ability to impose quantitative restrictions will depend on the final legislation.

Parliament may expand or narrow those powers. Until the process is complete, Polish cities cannot be said to have obtained restrictions comparable with those adopted in some western European destinations.

Platform bookings are growing rapidly

In 2024, travellers booked 39 million nights at Polish holiday and short-stay accommodation through Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Tripadvisor. The total increased by 19% from 2023, while the number of bookings rose by 22.2% to 5.2 million.

The statistics do not cover the entire market. Direct reservations, smaller websites and social media transactions are excluded, as are unreported units that may operate outside the measured accommodation category.

During the first quarter of 2025, platform bookings increased by another 17% to 1.1 million. Guest nights rose by 11.2% to 7.2 million. Domestic travellers accounted for about 73.8% of bookings and foreign visitors for 26.2%.

Małopolskie, which includes Kraków, was the largest market with 2.2 million platform guest nights during the first three months alone. The figures help explain why Poland now treats short-term accommodation as a major part of tourism rather than a marginal private activity.

Registration will not automatically return homes to long-term tenants

The register would improve transparency and make illegal operation more difficult, but it would not force compliant owners to enter the residential rental market. A host meeting all requirements in an authorised area could continue offering nightly stays.

The effect on long-term supply will depend on compliance costs, inspections, zoning and the likelihood that penalties are enforced. Registration and safety work may remain affordable for professional operators with several profitable units.

Occasional hosts and small operators may be more affected if they are unwilling to maintain documentation, follow hospitality procedures or accept inspections. Some could leave the market, while others may attempt to continue informally.

Detailed data on addresses, bookings and nights will eventually allow authorities to measure concentration and design more targeted rules. Until those data become available, claims about the effect of Airbnb-style accommodation on Polish rents and housing supply will remain dependent on incomplete estimates.

As International Investment experts report, the Polish proposal addresses the market’s most important information gap by creating a common record of units, operators and actual activity. It remains a bill rather than an operating ban. Registration and platform reporting will improve enforcement and taxation, but they will not automatically resolve housing shortages in tourist cities. The critical test will be whether municipalities can remove persistent offenders, protect permanent residents and enforce the rules without pushing small lawful operators into the informal market.

FAQ on Poland’s short-term rental reform

Has the new law entered into force

No. The Cabinet approved the bill on July 14, 2026. It must still pass parliament and receive presidential approval.

What would qualify as a short-term rental

The proposal covers accommodation provided for no more than 30 days. It would be treated as an accommodation service regardless of whether the owner is registered as a business.

Would one privately owned apartment require registration

Yes. The obligation would also cover an individual renting out one apartment through Airbnb, Booking.com or another channel.

Where would the property be registered

The unit would enter the Central Register of Tourist Accommodation Facilities and municipal records and receive an individual number.

Could a listing appear without a registration number

Once registration is mandatory, platforms would have to collect and display the number. Authorities could request removal of listings with missing or invalid identifiers.

What information would platforms share

Services would report the address, registration number, listing link, booked nights, guest numbers and countries of residence.

What is the maximum fine

The proposed administrative penalty is PLN 50,000. A property could also be removed from the register and barred from re-registration for one year.

Could neighbours ban a tourist apartment

Residents and housing organisations could request an inspection, but they would not receive an automatic veto. A legal or public-order violation would have to be established.

Could cities ban Airbnb

The bill provides limited zoning powers but does not give municipalities an unconditional right to prohibit every private short-term unit. Parliament may still change those provisions.

Would the rules cover ordinary residential leases

A conventional tenancy used for permanent residence should not automatically become an accommodation service. The short duration and nature of the stay would be decisive.