Green demand consistent measures against illegal key boxes!

Green demand consistent measures against illegal key boxes!

Neubau, Österreich - The discussion about short -term rentals about platforms such as Airbnb is getting louder in Vienna. The focus of the criticism is in particular, because the Greens have submitted an application to the district council, which is directed against the illegal use of key boxes in public space. These boxes enable potential guests to access numerous Airbnb apartments that are located in the seventh district. According to [meinzirk.at] (https://www.meinbezirk.at/neubau/c-politik/gruene-kritisieren-luessel-schluessel boxing-im-oefflichtichter-im-offlichtichter-room_a7386131) there are more than 700 such offers, which leads to a noticeable lack of living space and rising rental prices in the region.

Christoph Schuster, the office manager of the district manager of the new building, indicates that these key boxes are illegal and the department for street administration (MA 28) is responsible for their removal. No specific locations of key boxes are currently known. The city is therefore aimed at the population: clues can be reported via the "Sag’s Vienna" app. The overarching goal? To regain the withdrawn living space for the Neubauer population and increase the hurdles for commercial short -term rentals. In the long term, politics even strives for a comprehensive ban on such rentals in residential areas.

a European problem

Similar challenges can not only be observed in Vienna. In other European cities, such as in Paris, for example, illegal key boxes and short -term rentals are also carried out. There are often an estimated 25,000 private apartments illegal, as [https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/verzuser/airbnb-paris-102.html) reported. Paris city administration has taken measures to take action against rental speculation. A new catalog of measures that has been in force since January 2025 draws particular attention to the rental of main home: This may only be offered to tourists 90 days a year.

The political efforts are not without resistance. Hoteliers in Paris have already filed lawsuits against private holiday apartments, while Airbnb itself expresses concerns that the new requirements could have negative effects on tenants and the local economy. Nevertheless, there is an increasingly strict course against the commercial use of living space in other cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. These cities have their own regulations for misuse of living space that have recently been tightened by new laws.

regulations on the advance

Overall, the short -term rental via platforms such as Airbnb is confronted with long overdue regulations in many cities. The conversion of regular apartments into holiday accommodation deprives the housing market urgently needed living space, which leads to rising rents and the displacement of tenants. Many cities have therefore already issued strictly misuse regulations in order to counteract this trend. Violations of these regulations can be punished with fines of up to 500,000 euros, which underlines the seriousness of the situation.

The legal situation around Airbnb and similar platforms has changed drastically in recent years, which has been underpinned by a 2020 ECJ judgment. This judgment strengthens the regulatory options of the cities. The new digital registration process for hosts, which are now also introduced in many countries, should help to make the rental more transparent and to protect the rights of tenants.

The mixture of political initiatives and growing pressure on platforms such as Airbnb shows that the topic of short -term rental is not only current and explosive throughout Europe.