Vacancy Tax and Holiday-Home Levy in Tyrol — What Owners Need to Know in 2026

Owning a secondary property in Tyrol is no longer just a question of acquisition. Buyers of apartments or houses that are not used year-round as a primary residence today face a combination of approval requirements, use restrictions and — newly — recurring levies. At the centre of this development is the Tyrolean Freizeitwohnsitz-Leerstandsabgabegesetz, which redefines the economic logic of secondary-residence ownership in Tyrol.

What the Levy Regulates

With the amendment of the Tyrolean Freizeitwohnsitz-Leerstandsabgabegesetz, an obligation to pay a vacancy tax to the municipality has been introduced where a property stands empty. The legislator's central message is clear: mere vacancy is not prohibited — but it triggers a tax liability. Tyrol thereby deliberately distinguishes itself from regimes in Switzerland or Vorarlberg, which seek to prevent vacancy through direct usage obligations.

The levy attaches to the actual use of the property. Anyone who neither uses an apartment as a primary residence nor lets it on a sustained basis as a primary residence risks classification as vacant or as an unlawful secondary residence — even where the owner occasionally visits the property for holidays or weekends. The assessment is made on a case-by-case basis by the municipality in which the property is located.

Who Is Liable?

The party liable to the levy is, in principle, the civil-law owner of an apartment or residential building that is classified as vacant. In the case of condominium ownership, the relevant apartment owner is liable; in the case of co-owned property, the liability arises pro rata. The municipality issues the assessment to the owner registered in the Land Register as of the reference date.

The distinction from the holiday-home levy (Freizeitwohnsitzabgabe) matters. Anyone using their apartment as a secondary residence — even where that use is unlawful — is liable to pay the holiday-home levy. Liability under the Freizeitwohnsitz-Leerstandsabgabegesetz and administrative pursuit of an unlawful secondary-residence use can run side by side. It should also be noted that the use of the property (including unlawful use) additionally triggers a further holiday-home flat fee under the Tyrolean Visitor Tax Act (Tiroler Aufenthaltsabgabegesetz), payable to the tourist board of the respective region.

Strategic Consequences for Owners

From an owner's perspective, the law opens up three response routes:

First, the owner can use the property as a primary residence, or make it available to a family member or employee for primary-residence use. The vacancy tax is then not incurred — the property is properly inhabited.

Second, the owner can let the property on a sustained basis — whether under a primary tenancy, a sublet, or, in appropriate zoning, as a tourist accommodation business. The levy is again not due, because no vacancy exists.

Third, the owner can disclose the vacancy and pay the levy. This is a pragmatic option in particular where the property is being renovated, awaits transfer to the next generation, or briefly bridges two phases of use. Voluntary notification can also provide legal certainty and may prevent proceedings for unlawful secondary-residence use.

What We Advise Owners

Every decision concerning acquisition, transfer or restructuring of a Tyrolean property should be preceded by a legal inventory. The questions to be clarified in each case concern zoning, any past Freizeitwohnsitz determinations, the current use, the intended use structure and — newly — the economic effect of the vacancy levy.

Foreign owners in particular, whose centre of life lies outside Tyrol, should examine early on whether the intended use structure falls within the vacancy levy and what notification obligations exist towards the municipality. Acting without examination risks not only the retroactive imposition of the levy but also administrative proceedings concerning unlawful use.

Conclusion

The Tyrolean Freizeitwohnsitz-Leerstandsabgabegesetz is more than an additional administrative step. It is an expression of a political line that aims to secure housing for the Tyrolean population — and deliberately weakens the economic incentives for pure investment-holding of secondary properties. Owners who incorporate this logic into their planning retain room to structure. Those who ignore the development risk a painful combination of recurring levy and administrative conflict.