Holiday apartments have come under political pressure in Berlin. The reasons for this are complex. They lie in the scarce supply of affordable rental housing, the visibility of a few rental platforms and in changing demands of residents towards their city.
“There is an increasing awareness of leisure noise and this also affects celebrating tourists in trendy neighborhoods,” says Stephan la Barré, deputy chairman of ApartmentAllianz Berlin. “In addition, there is the shortage of housing. We are experiencing that the distribution struggles lead to intolerances and misperceptions.”
“The discussion about holiday apartments in Berlin is characterized by some popular misconceptions. ” These errors are as long-lasting as they are wrong. In the following, we want to correct the most common misconceptions,” says Romana Wolfram, Chairwoman of ApartmentAllianz Berlin.
Misconception 1: There are tens of thousands of holiday apartments in Berlin
In order to rule out possible vagueness, a definition of the term is recommended first. In contrast to other popular forms of accommodation, a vacation rental is a self-contained unit that is rented out for less than 90 days at a time. Individual rooms within an apartment and the temporary rental of the main apartment, for example during a vacation, are not relevant in this context, because this does not remove any apartment from the market. This also applies to holiday apartment offers that are located in commercial areas.
In addition, a holiday apartment is an apartment that is offered to guests. Therefore, there is no need to discuss possible unreported cases. It may be that several apartments are hidden behind some offers. However, these apartments are unlikely to add up to a market-relevant supply. For example, an evaluation of the actual data by Inside Airbnb as of September 23, 2025 shows 6,089 ascertainable vacation rentals in Berlin. Similar figures are also provided by the analysis platform AirDNA (5,043 entire apartments) and the German Holiday Home Association (6,356 private holiday accommodations).
Misconception 2: Most holiday apartments in Berlin are illegal
Of these approximately 6,000 apartments, about 0.5 percent do not have license information such as a registration number. This means that 99.5 percent of the holiday apartments offered are registered with the responsible districts and are therefore legal. There is no evidence for the claim of thousands of illegal holiday apartments in Berlin.
Misconception 3: Holiday apartments can easily be converted into normal apartments and rented out to Berliners
Of the approximately 6,000 holiday apartments that can be found in Berlin, a significant proportion are located in buildings or parts of buildings that are commercial areas under building law. The holiday apartments existing there are therefore not living spaces, also because in some cases certain conditions such as noise protection requirements are not met. “Looking at the portfolios represented by ApartmentAllianz, we expect a significant supply of holiday apartments on commercial land that cannot be made available for classic residential use,” says Stephan la Barré. “We would like to support differentiated recording.”
Misconception 4: Holiday apartments harm the neighbourhoods
The misperception that holiday apartments would harm the neighbourhoods goes back to the boom years of Berlin tourism before 2019. Larger boarding houses or concentrations of hotels that lead to conformist offers in retail and gastronomy are also viewed critically. However, the majority of Berlin’s holiday apartments are aimed at individual travellers with an explicit interest in Berlin’s special cultural and gastronomic offerings. Currently, the decline in tourism is being felt, especially among this demanding group of visitors. Bars, pubs and restaurants remain empty, specialty shops complain about fewer customers and the once famous club scene stumbles.
Misconception 5: Landlords don’t pay taxes
Holiday apartments are an economic factor in Berlin. They create jobs. In 2025, holiday apartment providers generated a turnover of 141 million euros. The direct and indirect value added is estimated by the German Holiday Home Association at 438 million euros. 6,373 people are directly and indirectly employed in this area of tourism. They paid 51 million euros in income tax. The VAT revenue calculated by the Holiday Home Association is 72 million euros. In addition, there is the Berlin City Tax of currently 7.5 percent on the overnight price.
