The European Commission is introducing new rules for holiday rental websites, such as Airbnb and Booking.com. Rental sites are obliged to share information about the bookings with municipal authorities. As a result, guests and hosts can no longer evade the local tourist tax.
From now on, if there is a municipal regulation, booking sites must share iedere month information about how many nights a house or apartment has been rented out and to how many people. For B&B landlords, this also means that the tax authorities are watching.
The European Commission also makes it clear that it is up to city councils and other governments themselves to determine the rules for holiday rentals. Dutch MEP Kim Van Sparrentak (GroenLinks): “Occasionally renting out an empty room is of course fine. However, it is mainly investors who are in charge so far.”
“The rapid growth of holiday rentals is reducing the housing supply, driving up house prices and putting pressure on the quality of life in cities. In Amsterdam, 72% of the Airbnb offer consists of complete homes, which are rented out for an average of 171 nights and yield 32,000 euros. This means that this rental is no longer a side income, but a revenue model.”
With the plans now presented, it is now up to the EU countries and the European Parliament to further develop these rules and negotiate an agreement. Van Sparrentak will negotiate the rules on behalf of the European Greens.
When the rules come into effect, the Dutch (local) legislation on tourist rental can also be better enforced.