Amid a wave of local European protests against growing tourism, Budapest’s downtown 6th district is holding a binding referendum on whether to allow the continued operation of apartment-sharing platforms like Airbnb, district mayor Tamás Soproni wrote on his Facebook page.
The politician said that today there are 1,468 legal short-term accommodation units in the district, which is almost 8 percent of all dwellings.
“Short-term rentals affect everyone, and everyone in a different way. For some it means a living, for others it’s cheap accommodation. Many people hate it because it disturbs the peace of their homes, others don’t even notice that they are alternating between the people living next door. Is Airbnb a blessing or a curse? Should we ban it or leave it alone?” Soproni wrote, pointing out that there are arguments on both sides, noting that many people work in short-term accommodation as hosts and cleaners. In addition, the local government collected 670 million forints (€1.69 million) in tourism tax alone from this type of accommodation last year, but they also cause a lot of problems for residents and are partly the reason why inner-city districts are being emptied.
Voting in the referendum will be possible online and in-person for people aged 16 or over, resident or non-resident. The result will be binding: A majority of district residents will be able to implement the will of the majority of the people, as authorized by law.
To help residents make as informed a decision as possible, a brochure will be distributed to each household, following the Swiss model, with arguments for and against a total ban, and a conference will be organized with professionals and lobbyists, Soproni pointed out.
From there, he went on to say, the exact question on the ballot will be: “Do you agree that we should ban the renting out of condominiums as Airbnb-type accommodation in District VI?”
