Airbnb Regulations in Prague (2026): The Complete Guide for Hosts & Owners

Is Airbnb Legal in Prague?

Short-term rentals (STRs) offered through platforms, such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia, are legal in Prague. However, they are classified as accommodation services (ubytovací služby) and are not equivalent to residential renting.

According to Section 2326 of the Czech Civil Code, an accommodation contract includes the following:

• Provision of temporary (short-term) lodging to a guest
• Accommodation is provided for a fixed, agreed period, or for a period determined by the purpose of the stay (e.g. tourism, business travel)
• Accommodation offered in a facility intended for accommodation
• Guest has a payment obligation for the accommodation and associated services (e.g. cleaning, linen change)
• Payment must be made within the time limit specified by the accommodation rules or, where no such rules apply, within a usual time limit.

Though there has been some confusion regarding whether Airbnb qualifies as a standard lease or an accommodation service, the Municipal Court in Prague clarified that housing needs are not “only overnight accommodation,” but involve “the entire complex of ensuring a person’s needs in their material and mental levels.”

By contrast, the court stated that accommodation provided through Airbnb does not meet a housing need, but instead only satisfies a need for accommodation.

What Does Airbnb’s Status as an “Accommodation Service” Mean?

Airbnb’s classification as an accommodation service in Prague matters because it determines which legal framework applies, with accommodation services subject to stricter obligations than residential renting. In practice, this typically means:

• Business (trade) obligations: Accommodation services are listed in the Annex 4 of the Trade Licensing Act as a free trade (Manufacture, trade and services not specified in Annexes 1 to 3 to the Trade Licensing Act). Where short-term accommodation is provided regularly and for profit, it is treated as a business activity, and the host is generally required to hold a trade licence for accommodation services (živnost – ubytovací služby) under Czech law.
• Different tax treatment: Czech courts have confirmed that when Airbnb-style stays are classified as accommodation services and carried out systematically, the resulting income is treated as business income under Section 7 of the Income Tax Actand not as rental income under Section 91.
• Maintain a guest register: As an accommodation provider (in this instance, as an Airbnb host), you need to collect basic details from each foreign guest, including their full name, date of birth, nationality, passport (or other travel document) number, and their arrival and departure dates. The guest register must be kept for six years from the date of the last entry.
• Report each foreign guest to the Police of the Czech Republic: Accommodation providers are obliged to report the accommodation of a foreigner to the Police of the Czech Republic. This needs to be done within three working days of the guest’s arrival in the country.
• Local accommodation fee (poplatek z pobytu): Hosts must collect and remit a municipal accommodation fee from short-term guests who are not local residents. In Prague, this is typically up to 50 CZK per person per night, set under Act No. 565/1990 Coll. to help cover local tourism-related costs2.

Because Airbnb stays are legally classified as accommodation services, Czech authorities can enforce compliance through tax, trade, police, and local-fee laws, even if Prague has not formally banned short-term rentals.

| Does calling Airbnb ‘short-term rent’ change anything? Calling Airbnb “short-term” would not change its legal nature. Czech courts look at how the property is actually used, not what the host calls it. As mentioned above, the Municipal Court in Prague has confirmed that Airbnb stays do not meet a housing need, but instead satisfy a need for accommodation, which means they fall under accommodation rules, even if the host describes them as “short-term rent.”

Who Can Legally Operate Short-Term Rentals in Prague?

Short-term rentals in Prague, whether they’re hosted on Airbnb, Booking.com, Hotels.com, etc., can be operated by individuals or companies, including foreign owners. It’s important, however, that their activity qualifies as accommodation services and all trade, tax, and local compliance rules are met. Ownership alone is not enough.

Individual property owners may operate Airbnb if the activity is carried out regularly and for profit, in which case it is treated as a business activity and requires a trade licence and full compliance with related obligations.

Managing short-term rentals on behalf of owners is also considered a business activity and requires a valid trade licence, along with compliance with tax, guest-registration, and local reporting rules.

EU citizens can operate short-term rentals under the same rules as Czech nationals, while non-EU nationals must also hold a valid long-term residence permit to do business.

Companies operating Airbnb listings are treated as accommodation providers, meaning the activity must be registered in the company’s business scope and income is taxed as business income when provided as short-term accommodation.

Finally, even if you buy a property marketed as “Airbnb-ready,” this does not automatically grant the legal right to operate short-term rentals free of restrictions. While Czech courts have confirmed that SVJ cannot impose blanket bans in their bylaws, owners must still comply with other enforceable rules (such as nuisance) that can affect how the unit is used in practice.

Can I do Airbnb without dealing with admin and paperwork? Yes, you can operate Airbnb without handling the admin yourself, but the compliance still has to be done. Short-term rentals in Prague involve ongoing obligations such as guest registration, police reporting, local fees, taxes, and occasional inspections, which is why owners can choose full-service short-term rental management to stay compliant without dealing with the paperwork day to day.

What is the Tax on Airbnb in Prague?

Your Airbnb income is generally subject to a 15% income tax rate, with a higher 23% rate applying to the portion of your total annual taxable income that exceeds 48 times the average monthly wage (for example, CZK 1,582,812 in 2024).

Bear in mind, Airbnb income is treated as business income when the following factors are present:

• short stays
• rotating guests
• pricing per night
• use of booking platforms
• regular or repeated activity
• profit motive

This combination is what courts have classified as accommodation services, triggering Section 7 business income. Also, because Airbnb income is typically treated as business income, social security and health insurance contributions apply.

Value-added tax (VAT) must also be taken into consideration, as it is a separate tax from income tax. If you provide short-term accommodation as an economic activity in the Czech Republic, you must register for VAT once your turnover exceeds CZK 2,000,003 within any 12 consecutive months, and even below that threshold, you may still need to register as a VAT-identified person if you receive services from platforms like Airbnb.

Importantly, Airbnb may report host income to the Czech tax authorities. If what you report doesn’t match platform data, it can trigger follow-up questions.

What are the Upcoming Airbnb Regulation Changes in Prague?

Short-term rentals in Prague are expected to face significantly higher transparency and oversight, driven by EU-level data sharing, a new national accommodation register, and expanded powers for municipalities. These include short-term accommodations listed not only on Airbnb, but also on Hotels.com Booking.com, and Expedia, among others. Not all measures are in force yet, however.

New EU Data Reporting Rule (Regulation (EU) 2024/1028)

Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 sets EU-wide rules for collecting and sharing data on short-term accommodation rentals (like Airbnb), so public authorities can identify:

• Who is hosting
• Where units are located
• How often/long they’re rented

The point of the Regulation is to make short-term rental data more consistent and usable, so authorities can base rules and enforcement on solid information, including through registration numbers and platform reporting.

If a Member State chooses to use these tools, it must set up a registration system and a single digital “entry point” so platforms can send monthly activity data (for example, nights booked and guest numbers) in a standard format.

It became law shortly after publication, but the main requirements apply from 20 May 2026.

e-Turista Register

The Czech Republic plans to introduce a national electronic register for all accommodation providers, called e-Turista. As noted by the Ministry of Regional Development, the register will:

• Establish a central public register of accommodation providers and units
• Enable hosts to complete registration and guest reporting digitally in one system
• Support reporting and administration of local accommodation (stay) fees
• Standardise and aggregate accommodation data for public authorities
• Reduce administrative burden for hosts, municipalities, and the state
• Increase transparency of short-term accommodation activity

e-Turista is expected to become mandatory in 2026, and failure to register may result in fines of up to CZK 100,000.

Increased Municipal Powers

The Czech Republic is preparing legislation that would give municipalities and city districts greater authority to regulate short-term accommodation in response to local housing and tourism pressures. As has been reported4, municipalities may be allowed to do the following as a result:

• Cap the number of days per year flats in apartment buildings may be used for short-term rentals
• Restrict when short-term rentals are allowed (e.g. seasonal or date-based limits)
• Set minimum space or occupancy standards per guest
• Apply stricter rules in high-pressure areas, such as historic districts
• Enforce compliance through registration and platform data, rather than ad-hoc checks

These powers would be exercised locally, meaning rules could differ between cities or even districts within Prague.

If approved, municipal controls are expected to be implemented from 2026, alongside national registration and EU data-sharing reforms.