Against a background of charges of widespread rule-breaking on short-term holiday rentals, the Dutch Labor Party has made a ban on Airbnb and similar platforms part of its platform for the upcoming city elections in March. The party is the second-largest in Amsterdam's council.
Short-term rentals are legal in Amsterdam, but no property can be rented for more than 60 days out of the year, and none can host more than four guests at a time. All must pay tourist tax, and register each new rental.
However, a recent study by the newspaper Trouw, claims that Airbnb is allowing its hosts to flout the law. Data collected from Airbnb and 'scraped' from its website, the report says, found 5,000 homes and houseboats rented constantly as short-term and never occupied by owners. It also claimed that 1,000 more rentals involved violation such as allowing more than four guests at a time.
Comments (1)