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Using state of emergency powers in place during the coronavirus
pandemic, the Czech parliament's lower chamber fast-tracked a
plan allowing local authorities to better collect tax and other
information on short-term lets.
Tourists crowding Prague's cobblestone streets and historic
squares, often to take advantage of its cheap beer and
late-night party scene, have put pressure on local services.
"This is a tool for the government to regulate Airbnb and
short-term rental," Prague's mayor Zdenek Hrib told Reuters
after the measure was approved by the lower house on Wednesday.
"We want to get more information from Airbnb owners about the
capacity of their apartments, how they are being used and the
fees they receive," Hrib added.
Landlords will now have to provide information on the location
of a property rented through platforms like Airbnb, how often a
flat was rented, the total payment received and identify the
online service used to connect the owner with the client.
Just over 9 million tourists visited Prague, which has a
population of 1.3 million, in 2019, making it one of the most
popular destinations in Europe behind only London, Paris and
Rome, Euromonitor data shows.
One of the most acute problems for Prague's residents is a lack
of affordable housing as many owners have converted properties
into short-term rentals serving tourists.
Airbnb listed nearly 12,000 properties in Prague in 2018,
according to Prague's development institute.
The district encompassing Prague's city centre has lost many of
its residents as tourism has grown, with registered voters
totalling 21,556 in 2017, from 36,862 in 1990.
While short-term rentals now standing vacant after the Czech
Republic shut its borders to curb the coronavirus outbreak, Hrib
said the city now has time to rethink its approach to tourism.
"If we have a chance to regulate Airbnb or similar platforms
during the days when there are no tourists it would be
beneficial. People would like to live in the city as permanent
residents," Hrib said.
(This story corrects to removes extraneous word, paragraph 10.)
(Reporting by Michael Kahn and Robert Muller, Editing by
Alexander Smith)
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