International

Short-term letting of accommodation to tourists via AirBnB or Wimdu has become big business. Increasingly, cities across the world are taking measures intended to restrict online platforms of this kind. The SP wants to see similar laws introduced in the Netherlands. “There is nothing wrong with temporarily letting out your house or a room, but AirBnB takes it too far, in particular in Amsterdam,” says SP Member of Parliament Sandra Beckerman. “We have to ensure that whole streets don’t end up consisting entirely of AirBnB. That’s what will happen if we do nothing. That’s what I want to prevent. What’s needed are clear rules so that AirBnB goes back to being fun.”

Initiatives such as AirBnB regularly lead to nuisance, to unsafe situations, unfair competition and improper use of a dwelling. “It’s crazy that there is such a desperate need for housing in Amsterdam, yet at the same time ever more apartments are being withdrawn from their real function, namely of providing a home for the city’s inhabitants,” says Beckerman. “The city of Amsterdam last year closed down almost three hundred buildings, but asked Parliament to create more possibilities to control AirBnB and prevent nuisance and the establishment of illegal hotels. Obviously such legislation could also help other councils in our country to prevent similar problems.”

Beckerman has presented a proposal to Parliament which would offer local authorities the legal powers to regulate AirBnB and to enforce the rules. There should, for example, be a proper legal requirement to inform the authorities that you’re letting in this way, so that councils know what accommodation is being rented out temporarily to tourists. In addition, local councils should have the right to set a maximum number of days that a house or apartment can be used for this purpose.”