The mayor of Budapest’s Castle District has outlined the problems with short-term rentals in a video message.
Budapest’s 1st District is considering tightening Airbnb regulations even further — potentially going as far as banning short-term apartment rentals altogether. The district, which includes the historic Castle District, is one of the most popular areas of the Hungarian capital among foreign tourists.
Csilla Fazekas, the district’s deputy mayor and a governing-party member of parliament, explained her concerns about Airbnb in a video posted on Facebook.
According to her, Airbnb is one of the strongest drivers of investment-focused apartment purchases, contributing significantly to soaring property prices and rental costs. The biggest losers, she argues, are young people and lower-income families, for whom living in the city center is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
She also pointed out that short-term rentals shrink the long-term rental market and keep rents persistently high. In addition, they affect the quality of tourism, public safety, and the condition of public spaces, while also disturbing the peace of residential communities.
Fazekas said she supports either much stricter regulation or a complete ban on Airbnb-style rentals. She has also sent letters to the mayors of neighboring districts to raise the issue and seek cooperation.
Currently, an Airbnb moratorium is in effect across Budapest until the end of 2026. Under this regulation, no new Airbnb permits have been issued in the city since January 2025. However, apartments that already have permits may still be rented out on a short-term basis to both domestic and foreign tourists.
If the Castle District proceeds with a ban, it would not be the first to do so. As previously reported, Budapest’s 6th District has already taken this step, banning short-term rentals from January 2026 onward. In that district, rental prices have already fallen slightly, while the supply of traditional long-term rental apartments has increased significantly.
