Amsterdam to fine Airbnb landlords who don't report their listing

The city of Amsterdam is working on obliging residents who want to rent out their property through Airbnb, to report it to the municipality, housing alderman Laurens Ivens said to Nieuwsuur. Those who fail to report their listing, will be fined.

"People must report it if they are going to rent out [their home], so we can keep track of whether they rent their property for too long. And if they don't, a penalty, a fine, will follow", Ivens said.

The national government initially did not want to approve a bill that would allow the Amsterdam municipality to implement this reporting obligation. But in February parliament voted in a motion by Sharon Gesthuizen (SP) that would make the obligation possible.

Amsterdam residents are allowed to rent out their homes to tourists for up to 60 days per year and to no more than four people at a time. But a number of apartments are listed on Airbnb all year long. Recently the municipality and Airbnb agreed that the site will automatically remove listings of homes and rooms that exceeded the 60 day limit.