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This article provides specific information about local laws that apply to people who host their homes in Frankfurt. Just like our country article for Germany, it’s your responsibility to verify and comply with any obligations that apply to you as a host. This article can serve as a starting point or place you can come back to if you have questions but it isn’t exhaustive and it doesn’t constitute legal or tax advice. It’s a good idea to check to make sure laws and procedures are current.
Some of the laws that might affect you are complicated. You can contact Frankfurt's building supervision department or a local attorney if you have questions.
The City of Frankfurt has regulations for residential spaces that are used as vacation rentals. Check Frankfurt’s holiday apartment statutes to learn more about the regulations, permit applications, and more.
Short-term rentals of living space are generally subject to a permit from the building supervision department. You can obtain a permit under the following circumstances:
You need to be able to demonstrate compliance with these rules at the request of the building supervision department. Alternatively, you can pay a compensation for the use of living space for short-term rentals and obtain a permit without the restrictions above. The authorities also may decide to grant the permit for a limited period or add conditions. The department provides a written receipt for permit applications. They have one month to decide whether or not to approve an application. If they don’t make a decision within that month, the permit is deemed to have been granted.
Check the regulations and the information provided by the City of Frankfurt to learn more about permit rules in Frankfurt.
On January 1, 2018, the City of Frankfurt implemented a tourism tax (Tourismusbeitragssatzung). Check Frankfurt’s administration site for more information on the tourism tax.
Since October 2024, all non-residents who are accommodated for a fee in the area of the City of Frankfurt am Main need to pay the tourism tax. Non-residents are those who do not have a main or secondary residence in the city of Frankfurt am Main. The obligation to pay tourism tax also includes overnight stays for business purposes.
The tax for each person is 2.00 € per night. Since August 1, 2018, Airbnb automatically collects and pays the tourism tax on your behalf so you don’t have to. We list the tax separately on your guests’ invoices and add it to their total. You can find more information on how tax collection and remittance works on Airbnb, and where to find your tax listed, in this article.