Is Airbnb banned in Zürich?

“Is Airbnb banned in Zürich now?” — we hear this question a lot since the Federal Court ruling. The short answer: it depends. Two things decide it: which zone your apartment is in, and how you use it.

The short answer

Airbnb is not banned outright in Zürich. What is now restricted is the short-term, furnished letting of apartments that sit in the protected residential share and no longer serve genuine housing. Whether your letting is affected depends on the zone and the type of use.

What it comes down to: zone and use

The basis is Federal Court ruling 1C_401/2024 and the building and zoning ordinance (BZO Art. 6/40). An apartment only drops out of the residential share — and is therefore restricted for short-term letting — when both apply together: it is regularly let on fixed terms of under one year AND nobody with a registered main residence lives there.

«Temporarily let second homes may be excluded from the minimum residential share.»

Federal Supreme Court · ruling 1C_401/2024

When Airbnb is still allowed in Zürich

• You occasionally let your own home, where you are registered with your main residence (e.g. while on holiday, or a single room) — someone with a main residence still lives there.
• Your apartment is in a centre zone (Z5–Z7) or a zone without a minimum residential share — the restriction generally does not apply there.
• It is genuine commercial accommodation (hotel, aparthotel) with the relevant permit — a different legal framework.

When it becomes a problem

• A second or investment apartment is let short-term on a permanent, rolling basis, with nobody registered as living there …
• … and the apartment sits in a zone with a minimum residential share (residential, core or neighbourhood-conservation zone).
• Then the unit drops out of the residential share — exactly what is now restricted. There is no grandfathering; enforcement begins in autumn 2026.

How to check your address

The zone is the first filter. Our address check shows in seconds whether your address sits in a zone with a minimum residential share. The result is indicative — the parcel-exact residential share and the actual use remain decisive.

The compliant alternative

If short-term letting no longer pays off in your zone, long-term living is the safe route. Room Estate takes over affected apartments on a normal, long-term residential lease — reliable income, no vacancy risk, and the apartment stays compliant within the residential share.

Note: this page provides general information, not legal advice. Beyond the residential share, other rules may apply (e.g. permits, tenancy- and tax-law aspects) — when in doubt, a case-by-case review is worth it.