AMS:
Airbnb Crackdown:
How Amsterdam’s New Rental Rules Are Reshaping the City

The handwritten note taped to a Jordaan apartment door says it all: "Sorry, your Airbnb is canceled. Blame the mayor." As of July 2024, Amsterdam has slashed legal short-term rentals by 62% under drastic new rules—and the effects are rippling across the city.

The Nuclear Option

The city’s new regulations are simple but brutal:

• 30-day annual cap on rentals (down from 60)
• €1,090 fines for illegal listings (up from €600)
• Undercover "rental hunters" posing as tourists to bust violators

The result? Over 11,000 listings vanished overnight, with entire buildings in the Red Light District and Grachtengordel suddenly silent. "It’s like someone turned off a faucet of drunk tourists," marvels Lieke Bakker, a bartender on Herengracht.

The Winners and Losers

• Hotels: Occupancy rates hit 92% this summer, with room prices up 18%.
• Locals: First-time buyers report more affordable apartments—a studio near Vondelpark recently sold for €320,000, down from €420k in 2023.
• Airbnb "Ghost Hosts": One landlord (who asked to remain anonymous) admits to losing €240,000/year in income from his 12 illegal listings.

The Enforcement Game

City officials aren’t playing nice. They’ve deployed:

• AI "web scrapers" that cross-check Airbnb with tax records
• Sting operations where inspectors book stays and arrive with police
• Whistleblower payouts (€250 per verified illegal rental)

"Some hosts tried disguising rentals as ‘house swaps,’" laughs Marijn de Vries, head of enforcement. "Until we noticed the same ‘swapper’ had 14 homes."

The Unintended Consequences

Not everyone is celebrating. Some neighborhoods report empty streets as former Airbnb properties sit vacant. "I miss the buzz," admits Elena Petrov, a Moldovan-born café owner in De Pijp. "Now I have regulars who just... live here. It’s weird."