Illegal rentals

Raid exposes secret hotel in apartment building

While the unsuspecting guests of the hidden "residence" are still asleep, the "Department for the Control of Short-Term Rentals" is already collecting evidence.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

A special squad of building police is monitoring the new laws against illegal tourist rentals in private apartments in Vienna. The "Krone" was present during a raid, got to know the shameless tricks of the landlords - and found an entire secret hotel behind an inconspicuous apartment building façade.

Getting up early is part of the job in the "Short-Term Rental Control Unit" of the Vienna Building Police: the raid on an apartment building in Leopoldstadt begins shortly after sunrise. This is when there is the highest probability of encountering guests who have rented the apartments via booking platforms such as AirBnB and booking.com. As soon as they open the door, head of department Günter Nast and his colleague Maryam Dogan know that they have hit the bull's eye.