Poland adopts amendment allowing local governments and housing co-ops to ban short-term rentals

Local ban powers restored

The Polish Council of Ministers adopted an amendment on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, to the draft act regulating short-term tourist accommodation. Submitted by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the revised bill grants municipalities, housing communities, and housing cooperatives the authority to prohibit or restrict short-term rentals within their jurisdictions. Under the proposed provisions, municipal councils can establish designated zones free from short-term rental operations, while housing communities and cooperatives can adopt resolutions prohibiting such services inside specific residential buildings. The measure seeks to address issues linked to tourist apartments in residential areas, including nighttime noise, disturbances, and property damage in common areas.

Coalition dispute and political compromise

The decision restores provisions that had been removed from the initial version of the draft bill earlier in the summer. In July 2026, the government approved a version of the amendment that excluded municipal ban zones, after Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism Ireneusz Raś argued that separate ban powers were not necessary. That move prompted public opposition within the ruling coalition, notably from Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.

Introducing her objection to the earlier removal, Pełczyńska-Nałęcz criticized the omission of local government controls.

The draft gives zero rights to local governments in designating Airbnb-free zones and zero possibilities for residents to decide whether they will have a patho-hotel next door, which often transforms into an even worse institution.

Following interventions by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the government coalition agreed on compromise language that reinstates both municipal zoning powers and building-level bans by residential co-owners.

Enforcement and registration rules

Under the amended legislation, a short-term rental service is legally defined as any accommodation service provided for a duration of no more than 30 days. To curb the shadow economy and align domestic standards with European Union regulations, the bill introduces a mandatory central registry for all short-term rental properties, regardless of who manages them. Property owners face financial penalties if they fail to register their premises. The draft also expands the authority of permanent residents, cooperatives, and homeowner associations to initiate official municipal inspections regarding public order and safety violations, including the right to request the deregistration of non-compliant properties. When a housing community or cooperative adopts a formal resolution banning tourist rentals in a building, the owner receives a six-month transition period to conclude tourist operations.

Implementation schedule

Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the government before the cabinet session to outline the expected schedule and rationale of the legislation.

Wherever order, safety, and the elementary comfort of residents are threatened, decisions excluding such businesses can be made. The act will enter into force in its entirety only in 2028, to give everyone a chance to prepare for these regulations, but there are provisions in this act that will enter into force immediately and they will function in situations where order is violated.

The staggered timeline is designed to give short-term rental operators time to adapt business models or shift apartments into the long-term residential leasing market, while granting immediate intervention powers to authorities when public order problems arise.