Airbnb Rental Law Enacted

MPs have passed a bill to regulate rental housing by owners through online platforms such as Airbnb and booking .com, which deal with both new and existing housing.

Apartment owners will now have to register in accordance with the new law adopted by the House of Representatives. The bill was passed by 52 deputies “for” and two deputies “against”.

The bill was proposed by the ruling DISY party, Averof Neophytou and EDEK deputy Elias Miriantos. The proposal was amended before the vote to include an extension clause for existing Airbnb owners. The time period was increased from one year to two years. New landlords will have to register immediately.

Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios told MPs last October that after negotiating with platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, the latter agreed that they oblige users to enter the serial number provided by the Government of Cyprus before allowing homeowners to use their services. The bill aims to create a special registry for short-term self-catering, where each leased property will be assigned a number. According to Perdios, this number will then be provided to online platforms, ensuring that the advertised property is approved by the government.

The platforms also agreed to provide the authorities with transaction-related information that may help with taxation purposes.