Council has decided to reduce the first fine people receive if they break the rules for vacation rentals. Landlords who committed an initial administrative offense were first fined €8,700, now reduced to €3,000. The municipality thus reduces the fine by about 66%.
The reduction in the cost of fines applies retroactively from 1 October last year. As a result, the municipality has to partially reimburse 77 violators of the holiday rental rules. The leniency regime also applies to 44 offenders prior to that period. According to councilor Zita Pels (Public Construction), this has to be done manually and should be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
Registration numbers
Strict rules apply to the holiday rental of houses in the city. For example, a home can only be rented for vacations 60 days a year. According to the municipality, it was too easy to commit fraud, which is why since 2021 landlords have to enter a registration number with the advertisement. The municipality enforces it and anyone who commits an administrative violation can therefore expect a fine on the carpet.
In June of this year, the municipality decided to do so stop issuing fines for now. The municipality received several reports that Amsterdammers had received large fines due to administrative errors. In a reporting The AT5 made last summer proves that it can really cost owners dearly if they break the rules. A spokesman for the commissioner says that after the reduction, the municipality will issue the fines again.
In 2019, AT5 made a report on the ease with which fraud can be committed on Airbnb. The research was nominated for De Tegel, the top prize for journalistic work in the Netherlands, in the regional news category.
