Buying in Tyrol
Second homes in Tyrol: what you may buy, and what you may not use.
A flat in Tyrol that you use only for holidays is a Freizeitwohnsitz, and that is a legal category, not a lifestyle. Whether you may create one depends on the municipality, not on the seller. The rules below come from the law itself, with the paragraph next to every number.
The three sentences it comes down to
Once second homes make up eight per cent of a municipality, no new one may be created there (§ 13 para. 5 lit. a). The cap is per municipality, not per province.
Whether a specific property holds second-home status is recorded in the municipal register (§ 14 para. 1), not in the listing. Ask for that in writing before you sign.
Using a home as a second home without permission risks up to 80,000 euros (§ 13a para. 3), on top of the annual levy based on floor area.
What counts as a second home
The law (TROG 2022 § 13 para. 1) defines a Freizeitwohnsitz as buildings, flats or parts of buildings used for stays during holidays, vacations, weekends or otherwise only temporarily for recreation. The decisive question is not how often you are there, but whether the place serves a year-round need for housing tied to your centre of life.
What is explicitly not a second home
- Licensed hospitality businesses
- A hotel or guesthouse operating under a trade licence is not a second home.
- Holiday flats up to three units and 12 beds
- Letting holiday flats stays outside the category up to this size.
- Private room letting
- Renting out rooms in your own home is treated separately.
The eight percent cap
Creating a new second home is not permitted once a municipality is above the cap. The measure (TROG 2022 § 13 para. 5 lit. a) is the share of registered second homes in the total number of dwellings, taken from the final result of the most recent building and housing census. Above eight percent, only the mayor may still grant an exception under § 13 para. 8, for instance for heirs or in hardship cases after a change of job.
This is why the same flat can be a legal second home in one valley and not in the next. The cap is per municipality, and it moves with each census.
The municipal register decides, not the listing
Every municipality keeps a register of second homes (TROG 2022 § 14 para. 1). Whether a specific property carries a second-home status is answered there, in writing, and nowhere else. A phrase in an advertisement is not a permit.
The annual levy
Since 1 January 2023 a second home is subject to the Tyrolean levy. The owner of the plot owes it (TFLAG § 3 para. 1). The rate depends on the usable floor area, and each municipality sets its own figure by ordinance within the statutory range (TFLAG § 4 para. 3).
| Usable floor area | Levy per year |
|---|---|
| up to 30 m² | 115 to 280 euros |
| over 30 to 60 m² | 230 to 560 euros |
| over 60 to 90 m² | 340 to 810 euros |
| over 90 to 150 m² | 490 to 1,150 euros |
| over 150 to 200 m² | 680 to 1,610 euros |
| over 200 to 250 m² | 880 to 2,070 euros |
| over 250 m² | 1,060 to 2,530 euros |
Cellars and lofts that are not fitted out for living or business, stairs, open balconies, loggias and terraces do not count towards the floor area. Ask the municipality for its ordinance: within these ranges the difference is more than double.
What happens if it is used anyway
Using a home as a second home without the required determination, building permit or exception is an administrative offence, and so is continuing to use one after the status has lapsed, or letting an approved second home to people not entitled to it. The district authority prosecutes.
| Offence | Maximum fine |
|---|---|
| Unlawful use as a second home (§ 13a para. 1) | 80,000 euros |
| False or missing information to the authority (§ 13a para. 2) | 6,000 euros |
These are the statutory maximums from § 13a para. 3. Published decisions show far smaller amounts in individual cases, but the exposure is the figure in the law, and a forced sale can follow.
Frequently asked questions
May I buy a flat in Tyrol and use it only for holidays?
Only where the municipality still has room. Once registered second homes reach eight per cent of all dwellings in that municipality, no new one may be created there (TROG 2022 § 13 para. 5 lit. a). Above the cap only the mayor may grant an exception under § 13 para. 8, for instance for heirs or in hardship after a change of job. The cap is per municipality, so the same flat can be permitted in one valley and not in the next.
How do I find out whether a property is an approved second home?
From the municipality. Every municipality keeps a register of second homes (TROG 2022 § 14 para. 1), and that register is the only place the question is answered. A phrase in a listing is not a permit. Ask for the entry in writing before you sign; neither we nor any portal can look it up for you.
How much is the Tyrolean second-home levy?
Between 115 and 2,530 euros a year, depending on usable floor area: up to 30 m² it is 115 to 280 euros, over 250 m² it is 1,060 to 2,530 euros (TFLAG § 4 para. 3). Each municipality sets its own figure inside that range by ordinance, so within one class the difference is more than double. The owner of the plot owes it (TFLAG § 3 para. 1), and the levy has applied since 1 January 2023.
What happens if a home is used as a second home without permission?
It is an administrative offence with a fine of up to 80,000 euros (TROG 2022 § 13a para. 3). The same applies to continuing after the status has lapsed and to letting an approved second home to people not entitled to it. False or missing information to the authority carries up to 6,000 euros. Published decisions show far smaller amounts in individual cases, but the exposure is the figure in the law, and a forced sale can follow.
Is a holiday flat that I let out a second home?
Not necessarily. Buildings with at most three flats and twelve beds in total, let to changing guests, stay outside the category, as do licensed hospitality businesses and private room letting (TROG 2022 § 13 para. 1). Above that size the rules for second homes apply.
What we cannot tell you
We do not know whether a particular property is entered in a municipal register of second homes, and no portal does. That information sits with the municipality, and it is the one fact worth obtaining in writing before you sign. We say so rather than implying an answer we do not have.
On wohnwahn
What we can show you is the location itself, measured rather than described.
Sources and status
Every figure on this page is taken from the law itself, not from press coverage. This page is information, not legal advice; for a specific property ask the municipality and, where money is at stake, a lawyer or notary.
Status: 3 September 2026 · Sources: Tyrolean Spatial Planning Act 2022 (TROG 2022) §§ 13, 13a, 14, and the Tyrolean Second Home and Vacancy Levy Act (TFLAG, LGBl. 86/2022), as published in the legal information system RIS.