Airbnb rules in Ghent 2026: the holiday-home stop, registration and fines

The Airbnb rules in Ghent come down to one question: what kind of home is it, and how much of it do you let? Since 11 April 2019 Ghent has not permitted apartments, studios or protected single-family houses to become tourist accommodation as their main use, but owners may still let part of a home, or the whole of an apartment or large house for at most four periods of 30 days a year, without a permit.¹ On top of that come Flemish registration, the city tax and, since 2026, much closer checks.⁶²⁹

In this guide

1. Airbnb rules in Ghent: the holiday-home stop
2. Flemish registration and the 2026 amendment
3. The Ghent tourist tax in brief
4. Enforcement and fines
5. Apartment buildings and the VME
6. A pre-signing checklist for a Ghent unit
7. Worked example
8. Questions people ask
9. Sources

This page goes deeper on Ghent than the Ghent section of the Belgium and Netherlands guide, which compares the city with other places.

Airbnb rules in Ghent: the holiday-home stop

Ghent announced the stop in October 2018 to protect the housing market, and the city government approved the vision paper and the stop on 11 April 2019.⁴⁵ The vision paper sorts homes into three types and sets what each may do.¹

• Apartments and studios.
• Protected single-family houses (te beschermen eengezinswoningen), with under 220 m² of floor area.
• Large houses, over 220 m².

Source: Stad Gent.¹

Some details matter in practice:¹

• More than 3 rooms or 9 people as secondary use needs a permit for a change to hospitality use under the city’s building regulation (Algemeen Bouwreglement).
• Local plans still apply. Secondary use must not conflict with a specific plan for the property (RUP or BPA).
• Large houses may be converted only into forms such as a small hotel, B&B or hostel, not into a holiday home or other informal accommodation as a whole, and must meet the building regulation and good planning.
• Older permits stand. Units with a permit from before the framework keep it; the framework applies to new operations and to older ones regularising without a permit.

When the stop was announced, the city added that converting a large house needs an operator living in the house and extra quality standards.⁴

Is the stop still current?

We checked on 2 November 2026. The vision paper is still on the city’s site with the same rules, and the city’s actions since point the same way:¹

• In December 2025 the alderman Sofie Bracke told VRT NWS that illegal tourist accommodation would get the option to regularise, and otherwise the flats would return to the housing market.⁹
• On 11 June 2026 the city decided to appeal a provincial permit for a holiday home in the Veldstraat. The alderman for planning, Christophe Peeters, said it was the third time the file had gone back and forth. VRT NWS cited an ING study estimating 620 homes in Ghent unavailable for rent because they are Airbnb holiday stays.¹⁰
• In October 2026 VRT NWS reported that the city wants to step up action against unpermitted letting.¹¹

Flemish registration and the 2026 amendment

Every paid tourist stay in Flanders falls under the Logiesdecreet: you register with Toerisme Vlaanderen and meet nine basic conditions, including a fire safety certificate, fire and liability insurance and compliance with planning rules.⁶ Online registration through the operator portal with your eID gives you the registration number at once; with the paper form you may not receive guests until it arrives.⁷ Platforms must ask for the number.⁶

On 17 July 2026 the Flemish Government sent a draft amendment of the decree to the Flemish Parliament, to align registration with EU regulation 2024/1028 and enforce more forcefully.⁸ According to VRT NWS, it makes platforms share their offer monthly, lets an owner whose lease forbids tourist subletting ask Toerisme Vlaanderen to act, and should get unregistered listings taken offline.¹² We found no confirmation on 2 November 2026 that Parliament has adopted it. The full Flemish picture is in the Flanders section.

The Ghent tourist tax in brief

Ghent’s tax on providing accommodation runs for tax years 2026 to 2031 under a regulation the council approved on 17 December 2025.³ It is charged per night per person aged 18 or over, whether the stay was paid or not, and is due per semester.²

• Category 2, a holiday home where the operator is personally registered in the population register on the first day of the semester: €3.93 excluding VAT in 2026–2028, €4.20 in 2029–2031.²
• Category 3, a holiday home where the operator is not: €6.61 excluding VAT in 2026–2028, €6.96 in 2029–2031.²
• Declaration. Keep overnight stays per month and file one declaration per semester; the old register duty has become a declaration duty. New operators contact the city tax office themselves.²

How Airbnb handles tourist tax and how Ghent compares with other cities is in tourist tax for Airbnb hosts in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Enforcement and fines

Ghent’s enforcement has two engines. The first is data: VRT NWS reported in December 2025 that the city’s supervision service was hiring 10 extra inspectors, and that the city would match the addresses platforms must pass on from 1 January with its own list of homes where nobody is registered as living.⁹ Bracke said the city received regular complaints about nuisance in residential streets.⁹

The second is sanctions. The Flemish accommodation decree, in the version of article 12 in force from 1 April 2026, allows an administrative fine of €250 to €25,000 for an operator who does not meet its conditions, and doubles the amounts for a new offence found within five years.¹⁴ The city named these sanctions in 2018:⁴

• Not registering: an administrative fine and, as a last resort, an order to stop.
• Breaking the time or floor-area limits: an official report that can lead to criminal prosecution.
• Unpaid tourist tax: a retroactive estimate that the city collects.

Ghent also introduced a hotel stop inside the R40 ring road and banned letting student rooms to tourists in summer, according to VRT NWS.⁹

Apartment buildings and the VME

Most Ghent units a co-host is offered are apartments, so two rule sets meet. The city limits an apartment to secondary use or four periods of 30 days.¹ The owners’ association (VME) may go further: according to the BIV, a VME cannot impose a general letting ban, but four-fifths of the votes at a general meeting can add a specific ban to the statutes, such as on letting through any online platform.¹³ If the owner is a tenant, the lease must allow the letting, one of the nine Flemish conditions.⁶

A pre-signing checklist for a Ghent unit

1. Type of home. Is it an apartment or studio, a protected house under 220 m², or a large house over 220 m²? Ask for the floor area in writing.¹
2. Planned use. Secondary use (under 50%, max 100 m², 3 rooms, 9 people) or whole-home letting in up to 4 periods of 30 days? Permanent whole-home letting of an apartment is not permitted.¹
3. Permit history. Does an older permit for tourist use exist? Check the RUP or BPA for the address with the city’s property information service.¹
4. Registration. Is the unit registered with Toerisme Vlaanderen, in whose name, and is the number on every listing?⁶⁷
5. Fire safety and insurance. See the certificate and policies; see fire safety for registered accommodation.⁶
6. Calendar. If the whole apartment is let, who tracks the four 30-day periods across Airbnb and other platforms?¹
7. Tax category. Is the operator personally registered in the population register on the first day of the semester, as the city’s wording puts it? That decides €3.93 or €6.61; ask the tax office if unsure.²
8. VME and lease. Read the statutes, the last minutes and, for a tenant, the lease.¹³⁶
9. In writing. Record who registers, who declares tax and who pays a fine in the compliance clause.

Worked example

Questions people ask

Sources

All sources checked 2 November 2026.

1. Stad Gent, “Visienota informeel toeristisch logies”, Applies since 11 April 2019, in Dutch
2. Stad Gent, “Belasting verstrekken logies”, Rates 2026–2028 and 2029–2031, in Dutch
3. Stad Gent, “Belasting op het verstrekken van logies (reglement)”, Council decision of 17 December 2025, tax years 2026–2031, in Dutch
4. Stad Gent (persruimte), “Gent voert vakantiewoningenstop in om woningmarkt te beschermen”, Press release, 5 October 2018, in Dutch
5. Stad Gent (persruimte), “Gent roept vakantiewoningen een halt toe”, Press release, 11 April 2019, in Dutch
6. Vlaanderen Vakantieland (Toerisme Vlaanderen), “Het Vlaamse Logiesdecreet”, Last updated 19 August 2026, in Dutch
7. Toerisme Vlaanderen, “Je logies aanmelden”, In Dutch
8. Vlaamse Regering (via Belga Share), “Beslissingen van de ministerraad van 17 juli 2026”, Flemish Government decisions, in Dutch
9. VRT NWS, “Gent werft extra controleurs aan in strijd tegen illegale AirBnB's”, 5 December 2025, in Dutch
10. VRT NWS, “Gent in beroep tegen vakantiewoning in de Veldstraat”, 11 June 2026, cites an ING study, in Dutch
11. VRT NWS, “Wooncrisis in Gent duwt leefloners naar vakantiewoningen”, 19 October 2026, in Dutch
12. VRT NWS, “Woningen huren en via Airbnb onderverhuren: duo huurders met creatief businessmodel is schrik van huiseigenaars in Antwerpen”, 29 July 2026, in Dutch
13. BIV, “Vastgoedkwesties: concrete situaties, concrete antwoorden”, Institute for real estate agents, in Dutch
14. Codex Vlaanderen, “Decreet houdende het toeristische logies (5 februari 2016)”, Consolidated text, article 12 as in force from 1 April 2026, in Dutch

We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email systemen@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.