EU Regulation 2024/1028: Registration Numbers and Monthly Data End the Fly-by-Night Era

From May 20, 2026, platforms must verify your registration number and report guest data monthly — what changed.

Last updated: September 16, 2026

You have been running a listing across a couple of platforms, filling the gaps in your own way, and assuming no one was watching too closely. That assumption now has an expiry date. From May 20, 2026, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 applies across the EU, and it changes how online platforms handle your registration number and your guest data.

The regulation is not a single EU-wide licensing regime, and it does not automatically erase every listing without a number. It is an opt-in mechanism: member states are not forced to apply it, but wherever a country runs a registration or data-reporting system, it must now follow this common standard. Platforms must display and verify each listing's registration number, run random checks, and report guest accommodation data every month through each state's Single Digital Entry Point. The "list first, file the paperwork later" model gets much harder.

This article explains what the regulation actually requires, why it lands differently city by city, and how to tell which bucket your listing falls into. It is not legal advice; confirm the specifics with the authority in the market where you operate.

Key Takeaways

• Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 applies from May 20, 2026. There is no extension; the rules are live from that date.
• Platforms must verify and display your registration number. They also run random checks and report guest data monthly via each state's Single Digital Entry Point.
• It is opt-in, not an EU-wide mandate. Member states are not forced to adopt it, but any national registration or reporting system must meet this standard.
• Authorities may require delisting of non-compliant listings. The rule is not "no number means automatic takedown," but non-compliance can be pulled.
• Several cities have frozen new licenses. Barcelona plans to end all tourist-apartment licenses by 2028; the Balearics froze new ones indefinitely; Athens and Thessaloniki froze new permits in 2026.

The red line: platforms must verify, authorities may delist

Start with what the regulation changes at the platform level. Covered online platforms must show each listing's registration number and take steps to verify it. They must also carry out random checks, and — through the national Single Digital Entry Point — send guest accommodation data to the competent authority every month. None of this is a suggestion a platform can quietly skip.

The new normal: platforms must verify and display your registration number, and authorities may require non-compliant listings to be taken down. The era of listing first and filing later is over.

That last point is the one hosts misread. The regulation does not say every listing missing a number is deleted on the spot by the platform. What it says is that platforms must verify and display, and that the competent authority can require non-compliant listings to be removed. If your registration is missing, expired, or wrong, you are now exposed to a takedown order you did not have to worry about before.

Why it is opt-in, not one EU rule

The single most important framing is the one most summaries get wrong. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 is an opt-in mechanism. Member states are not compelled to apply it. So you should not read it as "the EU now forces every host to register." That is not what the text does.

What it does is set a common standard for the places that already run a system. If a member state operates a short-term rental registration scheme, or a scheme for reporting guest data, then that scheme must now line up with the standard in 2024/1028 — same display and verification duties for platforms, same monthly data flow through the Single Digital Entry Point. In practice, the more a country already regulates, the more this regulation tightens what platforms must do there.

Two consequences follow. First, the rule you actually live under is your national (and often municipal) one, layered with this EU standard where it applies — not a single Brussels-wide permit. Second, because it is opt-in, the UK is out: post-Brexit, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 does not apply there, and a UK listing is governed by its own local regime.

Which bucket is your listing in?

City-level rules have moved faster than the EU text, and they are not uniform. Sort your situation:

• You host in Barcelona. The municipal policy goal is to phase out all tourist-apartment licenses by 2028. That is a local ambition on top of the national framework, and it points one direction for new and existing permits.
• You host in the Balearic Islands. New licenses are frozen indefinitely. The door for fresh permits is, for now, closed with no set reopening.
• You host in Athens (central districts 1–3) or Thessaloniki (first municipal community). New AMA registration numbers are frozen in 2026, and they are non-transferable — you cannot buy or inherit a permit and move it to a different property.
• You host in Lisbon or Porto. Lisbon reversed its city-wide halt on new licenses in 2026 — but do not read that as "all Lisbon is open." Its historic-center control zone stays frozen, and a license is invalidated the moment the property is sold. Porto and other Portuguese markets set their own local terms, so confirm the current stance where you operate.
• You host elsewhere in the EU. Your national registration system, where one exists, now operates against the 2024/1028 standard for platform verification and monthly reporting.

The compliance path under 2024/1028

If your listing is already registered, the work is mostly about matching the new platform duties. If it is not, the path depends entirely on your city's freeze rules above.

1. Confirm the registration number exists and is correct. Where your country runs a registration system, make sure each listing carries a valid number — and that it matches across every platform you use.
2. Expect verification and random checks. Platforms must verify the number and may sample listings. A number that is right on one site and missing on another is exactly the kind of mismatch the new duties are built to catch.
3. Plan for monthly data reporting. Where required, guest accommodation data flows to the authority each month through the national Single Digital Entry Point. Build the reporting step into your routine rather than treating it as a one-off.
4. Respect your city's freeze. If you are in Barcelona, the Balearics, Athens, Thessaloniki, or a frozen Lisbon zone, a new or transferred permit may simply not be available — operate what you legally hold and verify transferability before any purchase.

When you run across several platforms, keeping one source of truth helps: a calendar at localsbnb.com that pushes availability and nightly rates to Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda, and Trip.com keeps your listed details consistent across channels — which lowers the risk of a mismatch a platform auditor might flag during verification.

Self-check before you list or report

• [ ] Does the country where I list run a registration system? If yes, is my registration number displayed and verified on every platform I use?
• [ ] Am I treating 2024/1028 as opt-in — confirming the specific national rule in my market rather than assuming one EU rule?
• [ ] Have I budgeted for monthly guest-data reporting through the national Single Digital Entry Point, where required?
• [ ] Is my city freezing new licenses? (Barcelona by 2028; Balearics indefinitely; Athens districts 1–3 and Thessaloniki's first community in 2026.) If so, can I still operate or transfer what I have?
• [ ] For Lisbon: do I understand the 2026 reversal, the frozen historic-center zone, and that a license lapses on sale of the property?
• [ ] Is my UK listing treated separately? Post-Brexit, the regulation does not apply there.

Frequently asked questions

When does EU Regulation 2024/1028 take effect?

From May 20, 2026, with no extension. From that date, covered platforms must verify and display registration numbers and report guest data monthly.

Does this mean every EU listing without a number is deleted automatically?

No. The regulation is opt-in: member states are not forced to adopt it, but any national registration or reporting system must meet its standard. Platforms must verify and display numbers, and authorities may require non-compliant listings to be delisted — but it is not a blanket automatic takedown.

Which cities have frozen new short-term rental licenses?

Barcelona aims to phase out all tourist-apartment licenses by 2028; the Balearic Islands have frozen new licenses indefinitely; and Athens (central districts 1–3) and Thessaloniki (first municipal community) froze new permits in 2026 and made them non-transferable. Lisbon reversed its city-wide halt in 2026, but its historic center stays frozen and a license lapses on sale.

Does this apply in the UK?

No. The UK left the EU, so Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 does not apply there. Confirm the local regime separately with the relevant authority.

Ready to keep your EU listings aligned with the new verification and reporting rules? Start free at localsbnb.com.

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Fees, rates, and platform policies change, so confirm current details with each channel before acting. Results vary by market, season, property type, and pricing. LOCALSBNB provides software, not financial or legal advice.