Sejm passes short-term rental law letting communities, cooperatives and municipalities ban it

The vote

Poland's Sejm passed an amendment on Thursday, 8 October 2026, that sets rules for the short-term rental market. The bill was approved by 407 deputies, with 24 against and 9 abstaining, and it now goes to the Senate. The text was drafted by the ministry of sport and tourism as an amendment to the act on hotel services and on tour pilots and tour guides, along with several other acts. Lawmakers introduced several last-minute amendments, submitted by KO deputies, which clarify the text rather than substantially change it. Fakt described the bill as having stirred enormous emotions and even a crisis within the governing coalition.

Building-level bans and inspections

Owners of units in a housing community, or the general meeting of a housing cooperative, will be able to pass a resolution banning hotel services in the premises of a given property. Cooperatives will need a majority of more than 50% of those entitled to vote. Once a resolution is adopted, businesses running such activity will have six months to end it. Residents, communities and cooperatives will be able to initiate inspections of properties used for short-term rental, covering technical and fire requirements as well as security and public order. The law also requires that a property be removed from the register where a total of three security or public order violations are recorded within six months of the first established case. Re-entry to the register will be possible only after one year.

Municipal zones and the register

Municipal councils, acting on a request from a wójt, mayor or city president, may designate an area where hotel-type services in residential premises are temporarily excluded. The resolutions could provide for exceptions tied to the entity, the property or the time period. In the ministry's assessment, the changes will increase the say of residents and local governments over the environment they live in. The law also implements an EU regulation on collecting and sharing data on short-term rentals. It creates a Central Register of Tourist Accommodation Facilities, kept by local governments, and requires every property rented by the day to be registered. Each listing will receive an identification number, and administrative fines of up to 50,000 zł apply for breaking the new duties. An application must include house rules specifying the length of a hotel day, night quiet hours and full owner contact details, along with a positive opinion from a firefighter or another person authorised in fire protection.

Timing and open questions

The ban provisions for communities, cooperatives and municipalities, along with the municipal zones, take effect on 1 January 2028. The remaining provisions apply 14 days after publication. According to Business Insider, experts and lawyers stress that for cooperatives this right will remain only on paper. The same outlet describes the bill as still generating significant controversy, with some provisions, such as the blocking of short-term rentals, possibly remaining dead letters. Business Insider also reports that providers will have to register as entrepreneurs, facing a fine of 50,000 zł for failing to do so.