02.05.2019
In many German cities, living space is prohibited from being used for purposes other than those for which it was intended. According to this prohibition, private apartments may not or only to a limited extent be rented out as holiday apartments.
In Munich, a lease of private dwellings for more than eight weeks in a calendar year for the purpose of third-party accommodation is subject to approval. The City of Munich has therefore requested information from Airbnb, the Irish-based rental platform, as to which landlords in the city of Munich have rented apartments through the platform in the period from January 2017 to July 2018 and have exceeded the maximum period of eight weeks.
And rightly so, as the Munich financial lower court confirmed. Airbnb's operating company must comply with national regulations because it operates in Germany. The Irish head office does not change this either. Since the City of Munich was responsible for the subject matter and location and there was no violation of EU law or data protection regulations, not only the request for information, but also the additional penalty payment of 300,000 € threatened in the event of an infringement was legal.
Judgment
Administrative Court Munich, Judgment of 12.Dezember 2018 – M 9 K 18.4553
Administrative Court Munich, Judgment of 12.Dezember 2018 – M 9 K 18.4553
