At a talk at the Tusványos Festival, top faces of certain Fidesz-led Budapest districts discussed what they consider to be the biggest problem today in Budapest: the lack of control over Airbnb properties. They claimed that soon a “much needed” tightening of Airbnb rules might come, Index reported.
It was the Deputy Mayor of the 8th district Attila Egry who first claimed that the lack of rules is a big problem. He said that in the upcoming six months (in Hungary, local elections will be held in October) they would create a rule that will make Airbnbs “tolerable” for other residents too. “It’s not acceptable that people are suffering, just because some of the residents operate Airbnbs,” he insisted.
Index reminded him that a decree had already been passed last year in his district that orders apartment owners who rent their properties as temporary accommodations, to pay the maximum of the property tax (Huf 1,898- Eur 6 per sqm per year). Egry said that that law is solely about taxation, while the new one would regulate co-habitation. He argued that it’s intolerable that “people living in the house can’t do anything when Airbnbs interfere with community living.”
Fidesz MP and former deputy mayor of the 7th district István Bajkai, has revealed that he is already working on the law, which would place more responsibility on the landlords and allow more influence for the neighbors.
Bajkai wants to increase the strict liability of the landlords, so that they can be held responsible for their guests, and at the same time increase the influence of the residents so that they would have a say in the renting process.
In addition, in his view, landlords now have no interest in keeping houses tidy, since they don’t live there. This too should be changed, he argued.
According to Csepel’s Fidesz mayor, Lénárd Borbély, not just Airbnb rules, but the entire tenure process and property protection restrictions and regulations should be tightened, as its “practical use equals zero.” Even if the notary makes a decision or order, he has no other tools in his hands to enforce it, he explained.
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