Amsterdam Bans Airbnb Rentals in City Center
The Amsterdam municipality announced that it would ban all vacation rentals in three areas that make up Amsterdam’s central canal ring, a UNESCO world heritage site. amsterdam airbnb
In the other neighbourhoods of the Dutch capital, vacation rentals will be allowed only with a special permit, and only for up to 30 days a year, to groups of no more than four people.
Airbnb Netherlands said on Friday that it was “deeply concerned the proposals are illegal and violate the basic rights of local residents”.
“We remain eager to work with Amsterdam to support long-term solutions on home sharing – rather than short-term fixes that are confusing and damaging for residents and small businesses”, the company said.
Critics have long complained that the rise of Airbnb-style tourist rentals has torn the soul out of the centre of Europe’s best-loved tourist cities, from Edinburgh to Barcelona.
Airbnb said 95% of its listings in Amsterdam were outside the banned zone.
Amsterdam’s left-wing city council has been vocal about curbing mass tourism and what it describes as the nuisance caused by tourists in the old city center.
The city says one in 15 dwellings in Amsterdam as a whole shows up on online rental platforms and the rise of such rentals has “an increasingly negative influence on the quality of life” in some Amsterdam neighbourhoods. amsterdam airbnb
