Bucharest Hosts 207 Illegal Tourist Rentals in RS1 Quake-Risk Buildings
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 16
Bucharest Hosts 207 Illegal Tourist Rentals in RS1 Quake-Risk Buildings
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 16
Summary
Re:Rise identified 207 tourist rentals in Bucharest’s highest-risk RS1 buildings at the end of May, with capacity for more than 1,000 guests a night despite a 2024 ban.
Booking.com carried 116 of the confirmed listings, Airbnb 47, and 44 appeared on both platforms; only two disclosed the seismic risk, and even those descriptions softened the warning.
Romanian law bars any rentals in at least 404 RS1 buildings and allows fines of €1,000 to €2,000, but campaigners say platforms do not require hosts to declare structural safety and foreign visitors often miss Romanian-only red-dot notices.
Airbnb said it is investigating, while Booking.com said hosts must follow local law and authorities can report listings; Bucharest city hall said inspections follow complaints and about 3,000 owner notifications were sent.
Bucharest, the EU’s most seismically vulnerable capital, logged more than 2 million visitors in 2025, and a 2022 assessment estimated a major quake could kill about 6,500 people and severely damage 23,000 buildings.