"Short-term rental in Vienna" points in two directions that have nothing legally in common. Renting out a private flat by the day is tightly regulated in Vienna: at most 90 days a year, and beyond that only outside residential zones and only with a permit. If you are a guest looking for a furnished place, you land in different forms depending on how long you stay: a serviced apartment or aparthotel for nights and weeks, furnished "living for a while" (Wohnen auf Zeit) for several months, or a sublet from a private main tenant. For properties zoned as lodging establishments, the 90-day cap does not apply. The real question then stops being "is this allowed?" and becomes "which form fits my stay, and from how many nights does it pay off?". We separate both cleanly here, including the nights when a hotel is the smarter call.
Is short-term rental allowed in Vienna?
For private flats, only within limits. You may rent out your own flat to guests for up to 90 days per calendar year without a permit, as long as you keep your primary or secondary residence there. The city calls this home-sharing, and it is allowed in residential zones too. Beyond that, since 1 July 2024 you need an exception permit from the MA 37, capped at five years, and it exists only outside residential zones: inside a residential zone (§ 7a of the Vienna Building Code) regular paid short-term letting is not permitted. Even offering a flat beyond the 90-day frame without a permit can cost up to 50,000 euro, per the MA 37 leaflet. Whether letting already counts as a trade is decided case by case: services such as cleaning or bed linen count, and so does how you present yourself, for example on travel platforms, as oesterreich.gv.at explains. The City of Vienna publishes the rules, and the Chamber of Commerce summarises them in its short-term-rental leaflet.
For you as a booking guest, the good news: all of that concerns private letting. If a property is zoned as a lodging establishment (Beherbergungsstätte), the 90-day limit does not apply. Serviced apartments and aparthotels zoned that way book as easily as a hotel room, only with a kitchen.
| Type of rental | Allowed in Vienna? | For how long? | For whom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private flat, your own registered residence | Yes, limited | up to 90 days per year | occupants; tenants only if the lease allows subletting |
| Private flat outside a residential zone | Only with an MA 37 exception permit | limited, max. 5 years | landlords with a permit |
| Private flat inside a residential zone (§ 7a BO) | Only as home-sharing | up to 90 days per year, no exception permit | people who keep living there |
| Offer on Airbnb or Booking | offering counts as letting; whether it is a trade is decided case by case | the 90-day rule still applies | private hosts |
| Zoned as a lodging establishment (e.g. serviced apartment, aparthotel) | Yes | no 90-day limit | guests staying nights to weeks |
This is orientation, not legal advice, and the rules change (as of September 2026).
How long may a short-term rental be? The 90-day rule
For the private version it is the 90 days per calendar year mentioned above; anything beyond needs a permit. What counts as short-term is judged case by case: the Vienna Chamber of Commerce gives 2 to 30 days as a guide value. For properties zoned as lodging establishments there is no 90-day ceiling. For you as a guest that means how long you stay in a serviced apartment is your business. Three nights work just as well as three months. Where the sensible limit lies is decided not by the law but by price, and we get to that next.
Short-term rent, serviced apartment, Kurzzeitwohnen, Wohnen auf Zeit, sublet: 5 terms, 5 sets of rules
Five terms often land in the same search, though they mean different things and different rules apply to each.
| Term | What it means | Typical length | Legal frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term rent (Kurzzeitmiete) | usually tourist letting of a flat | guide value 2 to 30 days, privately at most 90 days a year | Vienna Building Code, Ortstaxe |
| Serviced apartment | furnished apartment with service, booked by the night | nights to months | run as a lodging business: tenancy law does not apply |
| Kurzzeitwohnen | furnished, serviced living over months | at room4rent 2 months to 2 years | fixed-term contract, per the provider |
| Wohnen auf Zeit | umbrella term for furnished living with an end date, usually monthly | from about a month to several years | depending on the provider: lodging, a usage contract or a lease |
| Sublet (Zwischenmiete) | subletting from a main tenant | a few months | sublease under the civil code and tenancy law |
Serviced apartment means furnished, fully equipped, by the night to the week, without a long-term lease. If it is run as a lodging business, the host enters you in the guest register within 24 hours, and you only need a residence registration (Meldezettel) once you stay longer than two months (§ 5 Registration Act). That is the case for city trips, business stays, or the first weeks after a move.
Kurzzeitwohnen is a provider term for furnished living over months. The housing association Österreichisches Siedlungswerk lists the room4rent houses under it, which let from two months to two years.
Wohnen auf Zeit is the umbrella term, and very different offers sit under it. The Fonds für temporäres Wohnen, founded in 1971 by the City of Vienna and the social partners, lets around 4,000 furnished apartments under the Mein Wien-Apartment brand, with a minimum stay of about seven months. Platforms such as kurzzeitmiete.at broker furnished flats for 1 to 6 months, and a sample on ImmoScout24 on 18 September 2026 showed monthly rents of 1,374 to 2,375 euro for 32 to 88 m².
Sublet (Zwischenmiete) means a private flat that a main tenant sublets for a few months, usually via the ÖH student-union noticeboard, willhaben or WG-Gesucht. Whether the main tenant may sublet at all depends on the lease: most Austrian leases contain a subletting ban, per oesterreich.gv.at. Expect a deposit, typically three gross monthly rents per the tenant advice service. If you stay several months and want to deal with furniture and contracts, it is often the better fit. We have worked through it for moving and flat-hunting in the long-stay and relocation guide and in the monthly rates for furnished apartments.
Classic short-term rent of a private flat is exactly the category most tightly regulated in Vienna. If you are still after that, the route runs through private hosts, not through us. How flat, hotel, and serviced apartment otherwise differ is set out in the comparison of Airbnb, hotel, and serviced apartment.
The short-stay threshold: when a serviced apartment pays off
A serviced apartment costs more per night than a hostel bed and often about the same as a mid-range hotel. The difference is not the nightly price but what you save over time: your own kitchen instead of every meal out, a washing machine instead of a laundry service, more square metres instead of a room. Those advantages compound with every night. The honest reverse is also true: for two nights it barely matters.
| Stay | What usually pays off | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 nights | rather a hotel | kitchen and space do not amortise yet, a daily reception is more convenient |
| 4 to 13 nights | serviced apartment | cook and wash yourself, more room, the nightly price relativises |
| 2 weeks to 3 months | serviced apartment or long-stay rate | fully equipped plus a registration address, more flexible than a lease |
| over 3 months | Wohnen auf Zeit, a sublet or your own flat | anyone staying longer than three months without a break is exempt from the Ortstaxe, and monthly rents get cheaper |
The last row is where many serviced-apartment providers stay quiet: under the Vienna Tourism Promotion Act, anyone staying longer than three months without a break is exempt from the Vienna Ortstaxe, which has stood at 5 percent since 1 July 2026 and rises to 8 percent on 1 July 2027. Anyone staying that long should price Wohnen auf Zeit, a sublet or a flat of their own. For everything below that, meaning classic short-term stays of a few nights to a few weeks, a commercial serviced apartment is usually the cleanest solution, legally and financially. Concrete prices per apartment and the terms for longer stays are in the prices for serviced apartments at the Naschmarkt.
Can a foreigner rent an apartment in Vienna?
Yes, without restriction. For a stay in a serviced apartment you need no Austrian residence and no credit check; you book as at a hotel. Registration depends on the kind of place: move into a flat and you register no later than 3 days after moving in (Meldezettel), with the host co-signing; in a lodging business the host enters you in the guest register within 24 hours, and you only register once you stay longer than two months. EU citizens staying longer than three months also apply for a registration certificate within four months of arrival. And the Ortstaxe of currently 5 percent no longer applies once you stay longer than three months without a break.
Short-term stays at the Naschmarkt: the MINT option
MINT @Naschmarkt runs premium serviced apartments right at the Naschmarkt in the 6th district. Five units, each with a fully equipped kitchen, self-check-in, and the option to register:
- Mini MINT, 35 m² for 2 guests, from 185 euro per night: the compact entry for a city trip or a solo business stay. Check availability
- Double MINT, 55 m² for 3 guests, from 205 euro: more room for longer stays. Check availability
- Double MINT with balcony, 55 m² for 3 guests, from 215 euro: the same with open air. Check availability
- MINT Artisan, 65 m² for 4 guests, from 185 euro: design-led, a strong space-to-price ratio. Check availability
- Penthouse, 85 m² for 4 guests, from 375 euro: the maisonette for a family or a higher bar. Check availability
The Naschmarkt is at the door, the Karlsplatz underground is 3 minutes on foot, the State Opera 8. From the airport the CAT brings you to Wien Mitte in 16 minutes, from there one U4 to Kettenbrückengasse, no change. There is no private parking and no 24-hour reception, but there is self-check-in and a direct contact.
FAQ
Is short-term rental allowed in Vienna? For private flats only within limits: up to 90 days a year while you keep your residence there, residential zones included. Beyond that, only outside residential zones and only with a time-limited MA 37 exception permit. For properties zoned as lodging establishments the 90-day cap does not apply (as of September 2026).
Is short-term rental allowed in Austria? Tourist short-term letting is regulated differently in each federal province. Vienna is among the strictest, above all in residential zones, though home-sharing remains allowed. As a guest of a commercially run property you need not concern yourself with these rules; they apply to the landlord side.
How long may a short-term rental be? For private letting with your own residence, up to 90 days per calendar year without a permit; the Vienna Chamber of Commerce gives 2 to 30 days as the guide value for short-term. In a property zoned as a lodging establishment there is no such ceiling, so how long you stay as a guest is up to you.
Can a foreigner rent an apartment in Vienna? Yes. For a serviced apartment you need no Austrian residence and no credit check; you book as at a hotel. If you move into a flat, you register no later than 3 days after moving in, with the host co-signing; in a lodging business the host enters you in the guest register, and you only register after two months. A conventional lease follows the usual deposit-and-contract terms.
What is the difference between short-term rent and a serviced apartment? Short-term rent usually means private, by-the-day letting of a flat, heavily regulated in Vienna. A serviced apartment is furnished and serviced; if it is zoned as a lodging establishment, the 90-day cap does not apply. As a guest you book it as simply as a hotel.
What does a serviced apartment in Vienna cost per night? At the Naschmarkt the MINT apartments start at 185 euro per night (Mini MINT, 35 m²) and reach 375 euro (Penthouse, 85 m²). Longer stays have their own terms shown during booking.
Is Ortstaxe charged on a serviced apartment? Yes. In Vienna the Ortstaxe has been 5 percent of the room charge since 1 July 2026 and rises to 8 percent on 1 July 2027. Anyone staying longer than three months without a break is exempt.
How last-minute can I book an apartment at the Naschmarkt? Self-check-in makes a short-notice arrival possible, and current availability is shown directly during booking.
