STR legislation amendment expected in Czechia in 2025
Czechia: The Czech government is proposing new measures to regulate short-term rental booking platforms operating within the country in order to tackle disruptive activities and make the sector more professional.
The Ministry of Regional Development has put forward the plan for an amendment to the country’s Act on Business Conditions in the Tourism Industry, which includes measures for short-term rentals. Any such legislation that is passed into law would be expected to come into effect from July 2025, according to the iDnes.cz website.
Under the terms of the proposed amendment, short-term rental accommodation providers [e.g. hosts / property owners] would be required to register and receive their own unique registration number, to be displayed on all the relevant listings across booking platforms. From thereon, registration numbers would be shared electronically with the Ministry of Regional Development, in line with proposals to regulate the sector put forward by the European Commission that could be implemented in the near future.
The aim of the amendment is to enhance transparency across the short-term rental sector in Czechia and tackle disruptive or illegal activities occurring within listings, however it will not address complaints surrounding excessive noise and disturbances late at night [which instead come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior].
Around 9.4 million overnight stays were recorded in Czechia in 2019, prior to the pandemic, booked by 7.8 million overseas tourists and 1.6 million domestic travellers respectively. Prague [the capital] is the country’s most popular destination for foreign visitors.
Earlier this year, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, revealed that Czechia [-36 per cent] had seen the largest decrease in nights spent in 2022 compared with 2019 in Europe, ahead of Hungary [-27 per cent], Ireland and Estonia [each -23 per cent].
