Amsterdam city council cuts Airbnb rental period in half

The city council in Amsterdam has decided to reduce the number of days residents can rent out their homes to tourists. Previously, this period was 60 days, but as of January 1, 2019, this will be just 30.

Airbnb in Amsterdam

Renting your house out to tourists via sites such as Airbnb and Booking.com has become extremely popular. In 2013, 4.500 properties were rented out to holidaymakers in Amsterdam.

Last year, the number of properties rented out to tourists was 22.000, a massive increase compared to 2013. Airbnb was the most popular, with 19.000 rental addresses in the Dutch capital. The substantial growth in housing rented out to tourists has had an impact on the living environment in certain neighbourhoods in Amsterdam.

According to research carried out by the municipality, these holiday rentals generate 220 million euros per year for letters and businesses and only cost them around 76 million euros. In 2017, Airbnb tweaked its website, making it no longer possible for letters to rent out their properties via the website if they had reached the 60-day limit in that calendar year.

New rules also came in and, as of last October, residents renting out their properties to vacationers had to notify the municipality, even if they were only renting their place out for one night. Failure to notify the municipality is punishable and results in a fine of 6.000 euros.

Breaking the rules

According to research by data-analyst Nico van Gog and Airbnb data expert Murray Cox, more than 6.000 properties let on Airbnb are breaking the rules. These properties are being rented for longer than the legal term of 60 days.

Of these 6.000 properties, around 5.000 are permanently rented out to tourists, and are thus removed from the Dutch housing market. Another 1.000 properties break other rules, such as the number of people staying in the property at one time, which is set at four.

The future of Airbnb in Amsterdam

According to figures from Airbnb, last year, 60 percent of properties offered were rented out for a period of 30 days or less. Another 35 percent of properties were rented out for 31 to 60 days, and the remaining five percent for a period longer than 60 days.

In 2019, the rental limit will be halved to 30 days. Airbnb is disappointed with this decision and sees the economy in Amsterdam missing out on 43 million euros as a result, and the limit having a negative impact on families in Amsterdam, companies and neighbourhoods.

In limiting the rental period, the city council wants to mitigate the impact tourism has on residential environments. Airbnb feels that it has already taken measures to improve this, as it has limited the rental period on its website, shares information with the municipality, has set up a contact point for disturbances and helps distribute tourists across the city.