CWTON: the short-term rental register. What we know today and what we do not

If you let a flat by the night through Airbnb, Booking or OLX, these changes affect you. There are plenty of half-truths going around, and some companies are already selling "CWTON registration", which cannot actually be carried out today. We have gathered what is really known.

Where this comes from

The basis is Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of the European Parliament and of the Council on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services. It has applied since 20 May 2026 and covers all Member States.

The aim is simple: to reach a point where the authorities know how many properties in a given city are actually let by the night. Today nobody knows this, including the local authorities that are trying to regulate this market.

What is supposed to change in practice

• Every property let on a short-term basis via the internet is to be registered and given its own registration number.
• The number is to be visible in every listing, on every platform where the property is offered.
• Platforms such as Airbnb or Booking will be required to check that the number is present and to remove listings without it.
• Platforms will also have to send the authorities booking data periodically: the number of nights and the number of guests.

In Poland the register is to be called Centralny Wykaz Turystycznych Obiektów Noclegowych (the Central List of Tourist Accommodation Facilities), CWTON for short. It is to be run by the ministry responsible for tourism.

What stage the legislation has reached in Poland

This is where the part that is rarely mentioned begins. The EU regulation applies directly, but for the register to start, a Polish implementing act is needed. The draft is being processed under the reference UC135.

At the time of writing, in September 2026, the act has not yet entered into force. That means something very concrete: technically the register does not exist, so nobody can register a property in it today. If someone is offering you such a service right now, check carefully what exactly they are selling.

This is not a reason to relax, but a reason to prepare. When the register opens, everyone will start in the same week, and deadlines tend to be short.

What you can do now

• Gather the property documents in one place: legal title, address, land register details and the number of beds.
• Tidy up your listings so that the same property is described the same way on every platform. Discrepancies between platforms will become a problem when one number has to be entered everywhere.
• Check who formally lets the property: a private individual, a sole trader or a company. This will affect how it is registered.
• Follow the progress of draft UC135, because it will settle the deadlines and the technical details.

What we do not know

To be honest: we do not yet know the final deadlines on the Polish side, the level of any penalties or what the registration will look like technically. Everything you can read about these points today is a forecast, not a fact.

That is why we will keep this post updated. If you let a property by the night and want to be notified when there is something concrete, write to us. We follow this draft closely, because we are preparing a service around it for our clients.