Airbnb or long-term rental: which fits you?

Curious what your home could earn?

See a realistic yearly estimate, before and after tax, in 30 seconds.

The short answer

It depends on whether you want to use the home yourself. If you do, short and mid-term rental fit best. If you never will, long-term can earn more over a full year.

Long-term rental

Long-term gives the highest total annual income on paper. A two room apartment in Copenhagen typically brings 12,000 to 16,000 kr a month. It is stable and low effort, but you hand the home over and Danish tenancy law makes it hard to get back.

Short-term rental of your own home

Your own home is capped at 70 nights per year, so this is an extra income, not a full time one. You keep the home and can use it whenever you like. Many owners keep 60,000 to 95,000 kr a year from the weeks they are away anyway.

Mid-term rental

Stays of roughly a month or longer are not holiday short-term rental and do not count toward the 70 nights. For tax purposes, renting to the same person for four months or more counts as ordinary long-term rental. These stays suit owners who travel for a season, work abroad for a while, or want to rest the home between high seasons.

Side by side

Total income: long-term usually wins on the full year, short-term wins per night used, mid-term sits in between. Freedom to use the home: long-term takes it away for the length of the contract, short-term keeps it yours at all times, mid-term gives it back on a known date. Effort: long-term is low ongoing effort, short-term is the most active, mid-term is moderate. Risk: long-term carries tenant protection and arrears risk, short-term carries booking and review risk but is capped at 70 nights, mid-term has fewer turnovers and vetted guests. How easy it is to stop: long-term is hard to exit because Danish tenancy law protects the tenant, while short and mid-term simply end when the booking ends.

Tenant protection under Danish law

With long-term rental the tenant has strong protection under Danish tenancy law. It is hard to get the home back once a contract is in place, and you cannot use it yourself while a tenant lives there. Short-term keeps the home fully yours at all times, but is capped at 70 nights a year for a primary residence.

Which one fits you?

If you live in the home and travel often, short-term plus mid-term fits best: you earn from the weeks you are away anyway and keep the home for yourself. If you are moving abroad for a few years and want the home ready when you return, mid-term is the cleanest answer. If you will never use the home again and want something fully passive, long-term usually earns the most over a full year. There is no single right answer; it depends on your situation, and we help you work it out.