The Act on the Prohibition of Misappropriation of Housing (Zweckentfremdungsgesetz - ZwEWG) of 10 December 2007, which was last amended by the Act of 19 June 2017, authorizes municipalities with tight housing markets to stipulate by statute that housing may only be used for non-residential purposes with their approval. The municipality itself decides whether there is actually a housing shortage in the municipal area and whether these tensions cannot be countered with other measures.

According to Art. 1 sentence 2 ZwEWG, misappropriation is deemed to have occurred in particular if more than 50 percent of the total area of the residential space is used or provided for commercial or professional purposes (e.g. as a law firm or physiotherapy practice), is used for tourist accommodation purposes for more than a total of eight weeks in a calendar year (e.g. rented out to tourists several times at short notice via internet portals) or is vacant for more than three months.

Details, in particular whether and with what content the municipality has issued a misappropriation statute, can be obtained from the municipality itself.