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Amsterdam imposes record fine for illegally renting out apartments on AirBnB

Xinhua, February 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

The municipality of Amsterdam has imposed a record fine of 297,000 euros (319,000 U.S. dollars), the highest penalty ever imposed in the city, to a property owner and a rental agency who did not comply with related legislation.

The property owner and the rental agency called Iamb&b together rented out 11 apartments on AirBnB without complying with the legislation of the municipality.

The 11 apartments located in one building caught the attention of the municipality after reports from local residents who suspected housing fraud.

Through digital investigations, the municipality found that the renting out of these apartments was not in accordance with the law, as they appeared on AirBnB too often and were continuously rented out.

Under the regulations in Amsterdam, only the main tenant of a residence may rent out the property for a maximum of 60 days per year and to no more than four people at a time.

The owner and Iamb&b must each pay a fine of 13,500 euros per apartment. Iamb&b is a "key-company" which helps homeowners with renting out rooms, receiving guests and handing over the keys.

"This is the prototype of an illegal hotel," said Laurens Ivens, housing councilor of the Amsterdam municipality.

"These agencies regularly work together with illegal hotels. If they know that houses are rented out too often, or that there are more than four tourists staying in one place, they are responsible too."

The municipality has also instructed the owner to stop his illegal renting-out business, otherwise these apartments will be closed.

However, the owner of Iamb&b Dirk Minnebo said he is convinced that the renting out of the apartments was legal and will therefore contest the fine. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollars) Endit