The first owner of the apartment for Airbnb in Prague received a fine for violating regulations

Prague – The Prague authorities imposed a fine of 20,000 crowns on the first owner of an apartment for violating building regulations during short-term accommodation of guests through the Airbnb platform. Hana Marvanová (for STAN), the city councilor for housing, told journalists today. According to the city leadership, apartments used in this way must comply with the same rules as hotels. The municipality has launched a free legal advisory service on the topic and is advocating for legislative changes.

According to data from foreign websites that focus on analyses of short-term accommodation, there are approximately 13,600 apartments in Prague rented out short-term through digital platforms like Airbnb, and in Prague 1 alone, there are 3,600 apartments, said Ondřej Boháč, director of the city's Institute of Planning and Development, in July this year.

Both Prague self-governments and local residents criticize the negative consequences of using apartments for short-term accommodation. The complaint to the building authority, based on which the fine was imposed, was filed last January by Petr Městecký, chairman of the Sustainable Housing Association in central Prague. He has long advocated the view that using apartments in this manner is illegal. "This is not about renting; it is about providing accommodation services, that is, business," he said today.

The decision on the fine was issued by the building authority of Prague 1, and after a review, it was confirmed by the municipality this August. According to Marvanová, this is an important precedent confirmed by the municipality's legal analyses and the ombudsman's office. "Fines can be imposed repeatedly and can reach up to half a million crowns," the councilor stated.

She added that the city strives for the Ministry of Regional Development to issue methodological guidelines that would set the decision-making for building authorities in similar cases. She believes that having more such decisions will help. "We would like residents or property owners who suffer from this problem to contact our advisory service, where they will receive specific legal advice for filing a complaint with building authorities," she said. She added that she already requested a meeting with Minister Klára Dostálová (for ANO) on the topic during the summer, but it has not yet taken place.

The councilor further stated that based on the position of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, trade licensing offices will also begin to enforce the obligation for buildings with apartments provided through platforms to be marked externally. According to the councilor, the problem is also that the city does not know where the apartments are located because the platforms refuse to provide the city with information even after the legal obligation was approved. This is also a reason why people should report their negative experiences to the authorities. "Without complaints from residents, we won't even know where the problem is," said Marvanová.

Helena Valtrová, director of a hotel in central Prague, stated that providers of traditional accommodation facilities must meet a number of costly obligations that the owners of apartments provided through platforms completely avoid. This includes mandatory annual inspections, adjustments resulting from fire safety and hygiene standards, or the obligation to report all foreign visitors to the foreign police. She added that hotels also fill out statistics on tourism, which, however, are basically useless without accounting for guests in apartments.

The capital city is promoting a law in the Chamber of Deputies that would allow self-governments to restrict the provision of apartments through accommodation platforms. The city has already submitted it to the Chamber, but the current body has not yet discussed it, according to Marvanová. "I believe the new Chamber will find time for it," she said. Among other proposals from Prague is to strengthen the powers of homeowners' associations so that they can limit this way of using apartments.