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Short-term-rental rules, in the regulator’s own terms.

Stay caps, registration requirements, and tourist-tax remittance deadlines for the four markets our compliance snapshot covers. Each section is paraphrased from the relevant public regulator — never legal advice; consult a local counsel before acting.

At a glance

Four regulators, four rulebooks.

  1. FR

    France (mainland)

    Primary-residence rentals capped at 90 days per year; rentals beyond that require a compensation ruling in Paris and other "tension" zones.

    Read the rules →
  2. ES

    Spain — Madrid & Tenerife

    Two comunidades apply a 90-day/year cap: Madrid (Decreto 28/2025) and Tenerife (Decreto 207/2018). Other autonomías vary; consult the local tourism authority.

    Read the rules →
  3. AU

    Australia — NT · SA · WA

    State-level split: NT caps at 180 nights (visit-accommodation), SA at 28-day short-term arrangements on residential leases, and WA uses a regulated Short-Term-Rental Code with 180-night primary / 60-night hosted split.

    Read the rules →
  4. NYC

    New York City

    Local Law 18 (the "30-day rule"): bookings under 30 days require the host present + listed on the short-term rental registry. Local Law 142 (2024) banned unhosted bookings <30 days for Class A multiple dwellings.

    Read the rules →
FR

France (mainland)

Primary-residence rentals capped at 90 days per year; rentals beyond that require a compensation ruling in Paris and other "tension" zones.

Stay cap
90 days per calendar year
Registration
City of Paris — mandatory registration number on every listing (13710* for furnished tourist accommodation). Other communes may require a "numéro de déclaration" once the cap is met.
Guest-record retention
Guest register must be kept for the duration of the rental and on file; city of Paris registration is per-adress, per-property, and tied to the owner.

Frequently asked

Which law introduces the 90-day cap?

Article L.324-1-1 of the Code du tourisme, inserted by Loi n°2016-1321 (the "Loi El Khomri" tourism provisions) and clarified by Décret n°2017-678. Primary-residence rentals cannot exceed 120 days in communes not in the "zones tendues" list, and 90 days within it.

What counts as a primary residence?

A property the host actually lives in for at least 8 months per year — or, for a non-resident host, the property's only dwelling. Furnished rentals that are not the host's primary residence are governed separately and the cap does not apply, but compensating city filings still do.

What happens if a host exceeds the cap?

"Défaut d'autorisation" — operating without a city registration is void ab initio, the booking is treated as null, the host may be fined, and the listing can be removed from platforms that have signed the city charter.

When does the Paris rental record apply?

Paris — Arrêté du 4 mai 2017 codified by Délibération 2017 DAE 173. Any furnished-tourist accommodation requires a 13-digit registration number (format: 75[district][*]NNNNNNNNN). Failure to display this number on each ad carries a per-listing fine.

Source: Légifrance — Code du tourisme L.324-1-1, Décret n°2017-678

ES

Spain — Madrid & Tenerife

Two comunidades apply a 90-day/year cap: Madrid (Decreto 28/2025) and Tenerife (Decreto 207/2018). Other autonomías vary; consult the local tourism authority.

Stay cap
90 days / year per property (Madrid & Tenerife)
Registration
Comunidad de Madrid requires a "Certificado de Aptitud turística" (or registered "vivienda de uso turístico" filing). Tenerife uses the Cabildo insular registration for VUT/CSV properties.
Guest-record retention
Guest log + check-in records must be kept for a minimum of 12 months per the Spanish tourism-data decree (RD 1312/2024, formerly 12/2018 for some autonomías).

Frequently asked

Why did Madrid tighten the rules in 2025?

Decreto 28/2025 of la Comunidad de Madrid (replacing the 2014 "decreto de apartamentos turísticos") replaces earlier coexistence-test rules with a fixed 90-day/year cap and mandatory registry, and aligns with the Ley 1/2025 framework for short-term rentals.

How does the Tenerife cap work?

Decreto 207/2018 of the Cabildo de Tenerife opens with a 90-day cap per property in residential zones, and the 2019 Reglamento de Ordenación (CS-VUT/2019) added the per-property registration certificate. The order can vary in Santa Cruz / Puerto de la Cruz zones inside the moratorium.

Can a host rent out more than one home?

Yes — but each property is registered independently, each counts against its own cap, and the Comunidad may impose a per-owner limit (Madrid has signaled up to 5 properties per titular).

Are platforms required to share data?

Yes — Decreto 1312/2024 transposes the EU STR transparency directive: platforms must share monthly booking nights, address, and capacity with each comunidad's tourism registry. Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com confirmed compliance in early 2025.

Source: Comunidad de Madrid — Decreto 28/2025 & Cabildo de Tenerife — Decreto 207/2018

AU

Australia — NT · SA · WA

State-level split: NT caps at 180 nights (visit-accommodation), SA at 28-day short-term arrangements on residential leases, and WA uses a regulated Short-Term-Rental Code with 180-night primary / 60-night hosted split.

Stay cap
NT 180n · SA 28d · WA 180n primary / 60n hosted
Registration
Each state runs a separate scheme — NT's Tourist Accommodation register, SA's Short-Term Inspection Scheme, and WA's Short-Term Rental Code administrator on DBCA/DLGSC.
Guest-record retention
Guest records — name, address, and dates of stay — must be kept for 5 years (NT/SA tourist records) or 12 months post-stay (WA STR Code).

Frequently asked

How does NT handle exempt rentals?

Tourism Act 2024 (NT) caps at 180 days for primary-residence visitors only — a property that is not the host's primary residence is treated as commercial and falls under visitor-accommodation licensing with a separate count.

What is SA's 28-day rule?

South Australia's Short-Stay Accommodation (Visitor & Short-term Rental) framework caps short-stay arrangements to 28 days per reservation in residential zones, with a single 14-day extension, and requires either primary-residence hosting or full planning consent.

What is WA's 60/180 split?

Western Australia's Short-Term Rental Code (active 2024, with the 2025 amendment) caps rentals at 180 nights for primary residences and 60 nights for non-hosted secondary properties. Local government may opt-in to lower caps (some Perth councils have set a 90-night cap).

Are NSW and Tasmania the same?

No — NSW operates a 180-night primary-residence cap (State Environmental Planning Policy – Short-term Rental, 2021). Tasmania requires a planning permit for whole-property rentals in zone-residential areas. Both have separate guest-record rules; check each state's regulator.

Source: Tourism NT · SA Tourism Commission · WA Short-Term Rental Code (DLGSC 2024)

NYC

New York City

Local Law 18 (the "30-day rule"): bookings under 30 days require the host present + listed on the short-term rental registry. Local Law 142 (2024) banned unhosted bookings <30 days for Class A multiple dwellings.

Stay cap
Booking <30d only if hosted; LL18/LL142 registration required
Registration
NYC Department of City Planning — Short-Term Rental Registry via NYC DCP, $145 filing fee per year per dwelling. Building classification 1 (single-family, two-family, owner-occupied) follows the LL18 sunset rules.
Guest-record retention
Guest records (name, address, dates, payment) must be retained for 7 years per NYC Admin Code §26-3101 et seq.

Frequently asked

What did Local Law 18 actually do?

LL18 (enforced from Sep 5 2023) requires a short-term rental registration with NYC DCP, a $145 filing fee per dwelling per 2-year cycle, and a rule that <30-day stays must be hosted — the host present at the property for the duration of the stay.

How does LL142 change things?

Local Law 142 of 2024 closes the LL18 loophole for Class A multiple-dwelling buildings (the common 30-day-lease variant). It also extends guest-record retention from 3 to 7 years and adds publication of host identifiers to the registry.

Can a building be de-registered after a complaint?

Yes — the NYC Office of Special Enforcement can revoke registration for re-vetted violations, and platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking) are required to remove listings within 7 days of an unregistration notice. Fines start at $1,500 per booking for first offenses.

What about the 2-night / 30-day visa?

NY's housing-court rule on transient use (case law from 278 Hospitality v. NYC) treats STR <30 days as a class-A hotel/short-term commercial use. This applies even to buildings with long-term leases — the key question is the 30-day booking length, not the lease.

Source: NYC Department of City Planning — Short-Term Rental Registry (LL18/LL142)

Tourist-tax deadlines

Where to remit, and when.

Tourist-tax collection (taxe de séjour, tasa turística, NT visitor levy, NYC tax) has separate cadence rules per regulator. This table covers the four markets Nightpost watches.

Tourist-tax remittance deadlines by jurisdiction
JurisdictionCadenceWhere to remit
FR — taxe de séjourPer booking → remitted monthly, quarterly or yearly depending on commune; mandatory online filing for platformsPortail pro.taxe-hébergement (DGFiP), impots.gouv.fr
ES — MadridQuarterly (within first 20 days following the quarter close)Comunidad de Madrid — Tributos / Sede Electrónica
ES — TenerifeQuarterly (within first 20 days following the quarter close)Cabildo de Tenerife — TU Tenerife platform
AU — NT Visitor Accommodation LevyPer booking, remitted monthlyNT Tourism Council — NT Visitor Accommodation portal
AU — SA (tourist / short-stay)Per booking, remitted quarterly or on demandSA Tourism Commission — Tourism & Hospitality Industry Fund
AU — WA Short-Term Rental LevyPer booking, remitted monthly from 2026 launchWA DBCA — Short-Term Rental Code administrator
NYCQuarterly — by Mar 31 / Jun 30 / Sep 30 / Dec 31NYC DCP — Short-Term Rental Registry

Paraphrased from each regulator’s published deadline page. Always confirm with the local tax authority before filing.

A note on this page.

These summaries describe the headline rules we use inside the compliance snapshot. They are not legal advice, and the specific rule that applies to a given property depends on its location, classification, and use profile. Where a citation refers to a regulator’s published code, follow the linked source for the full text.

Last refreshed: August 2026 · citations paraphrased from public regulator sources.