HostPrep Kit / Free guides

EU short-term rental registration numbers: a host's organizing checklist

Since 20 May 2026, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on short-term rentals applies across the EU. In places that run a registration system, each rental unit gets a registration number, and booking platforms must show it on your listing.

This guide explains the basics in plain words and gives you a checklist for keeping the admin side organized: which units need a number, what you declared, and whether your listings match your records.

This is general organizing help, not legal or tax advice. The EU Regulation sets a common framework, but whether and how registration applies to you depends on your national, regional and local rules. Always check with your local authority, and ask a qualified professional if you are unsure.

What the Regulation does, in short

• It is a framework, not a single EU register. Member States are not obliged to set up registration. But if a country, region or city introduces a registration system for short-term rentals, or asks platforms for data, it must follow this Regulation.
• Registration is online. Where registration applies, the procedure must be online, and hosts receive a unique registration number for each unit.
• Platforms show and check numbers. Online platforms must display registration numbers on listings, verify them and carry out random checks. Authorities can ask for non-compliant listings to be removed.
• Platforms share data. Platforms send data on stays and nights booked to public authorities, monthly for most platforms and quarterly for small and micro platforms.

For the official text and summaries, see the Regulation on EUR-Lex and the European Commission's pages on short-term rentals.

Step 1: Find out what applies to each unit

Rules can differ between neighboring cities, so check for each property, not just once for your country. Questions to answer:

• Does my country, region or city run a registration procedure for short-term rentals?
• Which authority runs it, and where is the online form?
• Does it cover my type of accommodation: a room in my home, a whole apartment, a second home?
• What information do I have to declare?
• Are there other local rules, such as a limit on nights per year, a separate license or a tourist tax?
• What do I have to do when something changes?

Write the answers down with the date you checked and a link to the source. Rules change, and you will want to know where your information came from.

Step 2: Keep a record for each unit

Keep the confirmation email or document from the authority in the same folder as this record.

Step 3: Check your listings match

Once you have a number, check every listing for that unit on every platform you use:

• The registration number shown is the right one for this unit
• The address, maximum guests and type of accommodation match what you declared
• Photos and descriptions do not suggest more beds or guests than declared
• Old or duplicate listings for the same unit are removed

Do this check when you first register, after any change, and before each busy season.

Step 4: Log changes

If something you declared changes, such as adding a sofa bed, changing the maximum number of guests or stopping rentals, you may need to update your registration. Keep a simple log: date, what changed, whether you updated the authority, and the date you did. Ask your local authority what counts as a change that must be reported.

Step 5: Track nights and bookings

Platforms will report stays and nights to authorities, so it helps to keep your own record that you can compare. A simple bookings log with check-in date, check-out date, nights, guests and platform is enough. In a spreadsheet, nights per stay is =C2-B2, and nights per month for one unit is a SUMIFS on that column. If your city has a night limit, compare your total against it each month.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming one answer covers every unit, when rules can differ from one town to the next
• Copying a registration number onto the wrong listing when you manage several units
• Changing the listing, for example adding beds, without checking whether the declared details need updating too
• Keeping records only inside a platform account, where you may lose access
• Relying on forum posts or old articles instead of the authority's own website

If anything is unclear, contact the authority that runs registration where your property is. A short email asking a specific question, kept with your records, is often the quickest way to an answer you can rely on.

Before the season checklist

• Every unit has a current answer to "does registration apply?"
• Registration numbers are on every listing and match your records
• Declared details match the property as it is today
• Your changes log is up to date
• You have checked your local authority's website for any new rules