Holiday homes and letting

In everyday language, holiday home, second home and holiday flat are often used interchangeably. Legally, the applicable provincial rules and the actual use are decisive. Under section 5 no. 17 of the Salzburg Spatial Planning Act 2009, a second home is a home that is not used as a principal residence and is not used for the permanent or otherwise privileged purposes listed there. Tourist accommodation is addressed separately.

In a second-home restriction municipality or a correspondingly designated area, a home may generally be used as a second home only in a designated second-home area. Section 31 of the Act contains exceptions, including certain transfers on death, second homes approved under building law and lawfully existing uses. An exception must fit the individual property and the planned letting to guests.

The preliminary review should therefore not ask only whether somebody is registered at the address. The building file, zoning, previous approvals, actual use and planned form of letting all matter. The holiday home glossary entry gives a concise explanation of the basic concept.

Section 5 no. 15 of the Salzburg Spatial Planning Act 2009 defines tourist accommodation as hosting guests in accommodation businesses or private accommodation. It expressly includes the letting of homes by the day or week. A home can therefore be assessed differently when it is no longer used only occasionally by a private owner but is regularly offered to changing guests.

The classification does not depend only on the platform name or the wording of the contract. Duration and frequency of stays, arrival arrangements, cleaning, guest support and the public presentation should be considered together. The closer the model is to an accommodation business, the more carefully planning law and other public-law duties must be reviewed.

The short-term letting glossary entry describes the form of letting. It does not automatically answer whether the individual home may be used in that way. A new model should be classified before the first paid stay.

Section 31b of the Salzburg Spatial Planning Act 2009 generally requires approval before an existing home is put to tourist accommodation. The Act lists exceptions, including homes in designated second-home areas, certain apartment buildings, tourist accommodation as private room letting and lawfully existing tourist uses that began before 1 January 2018 and remain in the same form.

If no exception applies, directing an existing home to tourist accommodation requires a building-law approval unless the general building rules already require one. Section 31b adds requirements for that approval. Among other things, no housing subsidy may have been used to construct the home. In addition, the home must not be well suited for principal-residence purposes or the municipality must not have a significant demand for homes suitable for principal residence that exceeds supply.

The applicant must prove these requirements. Approval may be granted for no more than ten years and may include conditions. Before an application, clarify which use was previously approved and which documents support the planned tourist use.

For a condominium, planning permission is only one part of the review. Section 16 of the Condominium Act 2002 covers changes including changes of designated use. Consent from the other owners may be relevant if protected interests could be affected. Frequent letting to changing guests can matter because of noise, repeated arrivals and departures or a different use of the building.

Compare the designated use in the condominium agreement with the planned letting. Resolutions of the owners' association and the house rules should also be reviewed. A general statement that an owner can always offer a flat through a platform would therefore be too broad.

A rented property starts from a different position. Section 11 of the Tenancy Act limits when a landlord can rely on a contractual prohibition of subletting. Section 30(2) no. 4 identifies complete transfer or disproportionate consideration as an important ground for termination. Whether these provisions apply and what follows depends on the lease and the individual tenancy.

If the property is to be purchased first, the Salzburg Land Transfer Act 2023 must also be considered. Section 11 applies to the legal acquisition of rights in building land in second-home restriction municipalities or corresponding restricted areas. The Act gives priority to principal residences and seeks to limit second-home use.

Section 13 of the Salzburg Land Transfer Act 2023 distinguishes principal residence, permanent residence, second home and tourist objects. For tourist objects and units, section 17 provides for a declaration that the object will remain in tourist use or will be put into tourist use within the specified period. A purchase decision should address these declarations before the contract is signed.

Before paying a deposit, the sale contract, land register, building file, zoning plan, tourist concept and intended use should be reviewed together. Anyone promising tourist use must be able to implement it in practice and within the required legal framework.

A reliable process begins with a property file. It should include the land-register extract, sale or lease agreement, condominium agreement, house rules, building file, plans, use approval, zoning plan and earlier authority correspondence. Add the size, facilities and planned number and duration of stays.

Then describe the letting model precisely: who lets the property, for what period, with what support and with which services? Daily letting with regular cleaning is assessed differently from a single stay of several weeks. Previous use and the new plan should be documented separately.

Only once these elements fit together can approvals, consents and other obligations be clarified in a sensible order. An attorney review can identify the right authority and sequence without treating a platform approval as a legal authorisation.