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Responsibilities of landlords

We have put together this page to help guide you through the hosting responsibilities that may be applicable, should you wish to host your property in Germany.
Please note that this page does not constitute legal advice, so we always recommend that you do your own research and check for any updates that may be applicable, to make sure the laws have not recently changed.
The rental of holiday apartments or houses is subject to different regulations and laws, which must be observed. These include, among other things, building and noise protection laws, regulations on property and tenancy law, misappropriation statutes or tax and commercial regulations. These can be valid for the whole of Germany or vary by federal state or municipality.
Take care to adhere to the applicable rules, because a failure to do so could result in heavy fines.

1. Obligations of platforms under Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 and sharing of information with authorities

From 20 May 2026, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on short–term rental accommodation services (“EU STR Regulation”) will impose new transparency and data-sharing obligations on short-term rental platforms such as FeWo-direkt, as well as on hosts.
In particular, this Regulation provides that:
  • Each Member State of the European Union must set up a Single Digital Entry Point (“SDEP”) responsible for receiving, on a regular basis (generally monthly), data relating to short–term rental activity;
  • Platforms must collect and display registration numbers where local law requires such a number;
  • Platforms must transmit to the competent authorities, via the SDEP, certain information relating to listings and their activity.
In this context, FeWo-direkt will:
  • Continue to display on your listings the registration numbers you provide to us where these are required by local regulations; and
  • Share with the competent authorities, where required by law, certain information relating to your listings, in particular: information about the accommodation (property address, registration number, and the URL of the listing on our platform); activity data, such as the number of nights during which the accommodation was rented and, where applicable, the number of guests hosted, to the extent required by the EU STR Regulation and by applicable national or local law.
This information sharing is in addition to the reporting or collection obligations already applicable in Germany.
You are responsible for:
  • Checking whether your municipality requires a registration procedure for furnished tourist accommodation.
  • Obtaining, where applicable, a valid registration number and entering it correctly in your listing; Ensuring that the information relating to your listing (in particular the property address) is accurate, complete, and up to date.
If you fail to comply (incomplete, incorrect, or outdated information), the local authorities may, where appropriate, take measures against you or ask the platform to suspend certain listings.
Please note that some federal states may update the format of any applicable registration numbers in advance of the implementation of the EU STR Regulation. For example:
  • North Rhine-Westphalia: On 18 March 2026, the registration number to be used when advertising holiday accommodation in North Rhine-Westphalia was updated from ‘006-2-0020042-21’ to ‘DEU-05111000-2-0020042-21’. Hosts may find their new number in the following portal: https://serviceportal.gemeinsamonline.de/Onlinedienste/Service/Entry/WOHNRAUMID; and are required to use this new number for all new listings, and to update existing listings with the new number without delay.

2. Legal situation regarding the misappropriation of living space in Germany

When living space in Germany is used for purpose other than permanent habitation, this is called misuse (Zweckentfremdung). Misuse of housing includes renting out your primary or secondary home as a vacation rental on a daily or weekly basis.
Almost all federal states have enacted or are currently considering legislation to prohibit the misuse of housing or to protect housing. Based on those federal laws, cities and municipalities with a tight housing market can in turn enact their own ordinances or statutes to regulate the misuse. This means that the legal situation can differ between federal states and between municipalities and may change at any time.

Permit

You can find out from the local competent authority whether you need a permit to rent out your primary and/or secondary residences as a holiday home. A permit for the non-intended use of living space can be granted upon for a limited period of time, unconditionally or conditionally and compensation may be required.

Registration number

Hosts are also typically required to notify the local competent administration to obtain a registration number. The registration number will have to be clearly displayed at all times in any listing or advertising.

Maximum rental period

In addition, vacation rentals may be limited to a maximum rental period per year.

Guest registration

You are required by German law to collect and retain information about guests who inhabit your property for 3 months or less. This can be done by creating reports yourself or through buying reporting certificates online. If you decide to retain guest data in your own guest register, you will need to comply with all applicable data protection laws including the GDRP (General Data Protection Regulation).

Cities regulations

You can usually find detailed information regarding municipal regulations and required applications on the cities’ websites, including those available here: