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- Apartment with an asterisk: what will lead to stricter rules of daily rent for tourists
Apartment with an asterisk: what will lead to stricter rules of daily rent for tourists
In Russia, it was proposed to legalize the rental of apartments and apartments for "accommodation facilities" and establish uniform requirements for owners of such real estate. The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the State Duma by the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT). This provoked a discussion about who really keeps domestic tourism profitable, and who simply "crushes" it. The State Duma emphasizes that the daily rent of apartments is no longer completely "outside the legal field", since the owners are required to pay taxes and the scheme of "social entrepreneurship" is formally fixed. And industry experts believe that the tourist housing market is insufficiently regulated in terms of safety, quality of service and transparent conditions for all participants. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Why hotels are losing out to the apartment market
The average cost of living in a rented apartment, according to PCT estimates, is about half of the hotel rate, which creates a clear bias in the market and encourages us to talk about different levels of security for tourists and service standards. At the same time, the Russian domestic tourism market in the winter season of 2025-2026 recorded a noticeable increase in interest in travel, which is why the issue of regulating daily rentals is becoming particularly acute for hoteliers, landlords, regions and tourists themselves.
The shortage of rooms, especially in the segment of up to three stars, and the growing number of trips within the country help apartments to retain a significant share of the tourist market. This suppresses the occupancy rate and profitability of the hotel business, the State Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development emphasizes.
Artem Prokofiev, a member of the Tourism Committee, cites a striking regional example showing the scale of the shift towards rental housing by travelers.
"Only in Kazan, one of the most popular tourist cities, the offer of daily apartment rentals has increased more than 40 times since 2018," he points out.
At the same time, as the parliamentarian notes, it is important to understand that the shortage of accommodation remains one of the key constraints for the further development of domestic and inbound tourism today.
According to Cian, by the end of 2025, the number of apartments for daily rent in Russia exceeded 314 thousand units, growing by about 37% year-on-year. In the largest cities with millions of residents, the number of lots for short‑term rent has increased by 33% over the year, which supports the thesis that ordinary housing takes up a significant part of the demand that hoteliers cannot meet due to a shortage of rooms.
Avito Travel analytics shows that the market for daily rental of real estate in Russia is estimated at 381 billion rubles and is growing at a double-digit pace. However, the number of nights booked is increasing more slowly than the supply, which highlights the high competition and pressure on prices.
Speaking of short-term rentals, it is important to take into account that legally this segment is still not completely "gray," emphasizes Sergey Krivonosov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development.
— This segment is completely within the legal field. The current legislation already provides for the obligation to pay taxes on income from renting housing, and control in this part is gradually increasing," the deputy recalls.
At the same time, he does not exclude the need for additional regulatory measures, primarily in terms of transparency, compliance with the rules of guest behavior and consumer protection.
Will the regulation of apartment rentals lead to higher prices
The proposal to equate apartments with accommodation facilities and introduce at least minimum requirements may lead to market segmentation and an increase in average rates, according to the State Duma Committee on Tourism and industry associations. However, such a step will not necessarily destroy the available options.
A tourist chooses an apartment not because it is a "gray segment", but because it is cheaper and more flexible, recalls Voskan Arzumanov, commercial director of TEZ TOUR. And sometimes renting an apartment turns out to be the only available option at all — there are cities and regions in Russia where the hotel fund is insufficient or limited in quality and price. In such cases, apartments actually cover the shortage of accommodation, and without them, some of the demand will simply remain unsatisfied.
New regulatory rules may lead to more pronounced market segmentation, which will allow for better and safer facilities, admits Nikolai Zyryanov, a member of the legal committee of the Russian Guild of Realtors. However, the supply, according to him, is always supported by the corresponding demand, and the segment that is not prone to regulation will simply fade into the shadows, which will negatively affect market security.
In turn, Roman Arseny, Head of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality at the Russian International Academy of Tourism, believes that it is almost impossible to whitewash the segment without a single basic set of requirements.
"Although renting apartments is cheaper than hotel rooms, this type of accommodation still has disadvantages: owners do not always take care of ensuring the safety of guests, the services provided can be of very mediocre quality, and pricing is chaotic," he warns.
If the rental of apartments is equated to the activities of accommodation facilities, the cost of such services may increase, the expert does not exclude. But this scenario is optional, because prices depend on the equipment of the apartments.
Why additional regulation is needed
The PCT initiative is justified by the fact that apartments are not formally included in the register and are not subject to classification, which creates a legal vacuum and complicates safety and quality control. However, a number of experts point out that the market is already partially regulated through taxes and special regimes.
In 2019, hotel services were banned in the housing stock, but the owners of residential premises still have the right to use apartments for short-term rent absolutely legally, recalls the head of the Guild of Small Accommodation Facilities, Yana Babina.
"This measure has clearly divided the market between hotel services and short—term employment, and has also led to a whitewashing of the daily rental market," she says.
Short-term rentals today represent social entrepreneurship, the expert clarifies. Self-employment and a separate OKVED code 55.20 have been introduced for such activities, which fixes it in the register of the "white" economy and allows you to regulate tax obligations.
At the same time, representatives of the hotel business and some regulators note that most hotels and guest houses have mandatory safety requirements in the registry of accommodation facilities, while there are no such standards in the housing stock. Therefore, in fact, the "gray" remains in terms of service and security, even if there is a tax clearance.
Who guarantees the protection of a tourist when renting an apartment
Today, the protection of tourists who have chosen ordinary accommodation to stay on a trip is based mainly on a short-term rental agreement and general legal and regulatory mechanisms, rather than on specialized tourist standards, which raises questions from a number of experts. The safety standards typical for hotels should be at least partially extended to tourist apartments, Roman Arseny believes.
"The owners of the accommodation facilities comply with all the requirements, which leads to an increase in the cost of service, but at the same time it increases the safety and comfort of the guest (ensuring sanitary, fire, environmental, anti—terrorist standards, room facilities, expanding the range of services)," he emphasizes.
Uniform requirements for renting apartments as accommodation facilities will make it possible to bring the premises to the basic requirements, providing for the minimum equipment of rooms with furniture and appliances, bathrooms with plumbing equipment and hygiene items, regulating the frequency of cleaning and other services, and most importantly, ensuring safety standards, the expert notes.
At the same time, regulation should be gentle but understandable, emphasizes Sergey Krivonosov.
— If you approach the market harshly and overregulate it, it can reduce the availability of recreation. But if we implement a soft legalization model with minimal requirements, the market will remain accessible. For many families, renting an apartment is the only way to travel, the MP warns.
Evidence that soft regulation can formalize the market without destroying it is provided by data on the growth in the number of registered guest houses. According to the results of the experiment on the introduction of minimum requirements in the register of accommodation facilities, in six months their number amounted to more than 7 thousand objects.
Do hotels really compete with apartments
Limiting daily rentals may return some apartments to the long-term market, but at the same time provoke an increase in rental rates and increase the shortage of affordable housing for ordinary residents, warns Izvestia's interlocutor.
Sergey Krivonosov emphasizes the two-sided nature of the consequences. The return of some apartments to the long-term rental market may stabilize prices, he admits. However, excessive pressure can lead to owners compensating for costs by increasing rental rates.
The segment already has a legislative status, and additional regulation is not only unnecessary, but also risky for social groups, warns Yana Babina.
"Due to the difficult economic situation in the country, the purchasing power of citizens has decreased, which means that the demand for hotels in some regions could decrease," she admits. However, the daily rental of housing has a completely different target audience, so the solution to the problem lies not in additional regulation of short-term hiring, but in marketing hotels and properly adapting them to the needs of their target audience.
The expert emphasizes the social function of daily rent, stating that not all Russians can afford to pay not only for accommodation, but also for service, as in hotels.
— Those who can't stay in daily apartments. These are often poor families, pensioners or people of pre—retirement age, students, single and parents with many children, and so on," Babina recalls.
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