Amsterdam must fine individuals, businesses differently for illegal holiday rentals

The municipality of Amsterdam can't fine all illegal rentals of homes to tourists the same, the Council of State concluded. The city should at least make a distinction between commercial and private rentals, like the municipalities of The Hague and Rotterdam are already doing, NOS reports.

According to the Council of State, the highest administrative judge in the Netherlands, not all rental violations are equal. One can be more serious than the other, depending on the facts and circumstances. The municipality of Amsterdam is not taking this into account, but these facts and circumstances may well be reason for a lower fine.

Amsterdam should take into account things like the fact that individuals who rent out their home to tourists are often also the main occupant of that same home. The municipality could also look at the maximum number of days per year a house is allowed to be rented to tourists and adjust the fine for rental without a permit accordingly, the Council of State said.

In 2018 and 2019, a number of private individuals got fined the then maximum 20,500 euros for renting their homes to tourists without a permit. They objected and the court eventually lowered the fines to between 4 thousand and 10 thousand euros. The municipality of Amsterdam appealed, but the court ruled against it.