The Hague has decided to ban Airbnb from the city — and landlords who are found renting an apartment will get a hefty fine, reports NOS.
Currently, in order to lease a place in the city you need a license from the municipality. However, licences to lease holiday rentals will not be given out anymore.
Airbnb has caused all sorts of controversies across the world. From too many tourists flocking to otherwise quiet areas, or preserved historical neighbourhoods being disturbed by too many visitors, Airbnb has certainly become unpopular in some areas.
Precedent in Amsterdam
The groundwork for the ban in the Hague emerged due to a situation in Amsterdam in January. The Council of State fined a woman because she was renting out a place without declaring it.
Thankfully for her, she did not need to pay the fine, as the highest Dutch administrative court intervened on her behalf. They decided that the argument used by the municipality was not legally valid.
READ MORE: Amsterdam Hits Illegal Airbnb Hosts with €387,000 in Fines
Afterwards, the Council of State declared that fines cannot be given for not reporting, especially because the municipality is not allowed to deviate from obligatory licensing.
With that in mind, the municipality of the Hague decided that rental permits needed to be granted in order to sublet an apartment through Airbnb. As the municipality will not give those rental permits, no Airbnbs can be made. Problem solved, right? Well, not exactly.
Inconsistent policy
The policy towards Airbnbs in the Netherlands, no matter their location, is inconsistent. Municipalities will give out fines to people who rent out their homes for more than 30 days. Otherwise, if you want to rent out your place because you are going on vacation for a week or a couple of days, that should be fine.
Practically and legally, none of the municipalities actually have a system in place to give out holiday rental permits. This means that technically speaking, all Airbnbs are essentially illegal in the Netherlands. More time needs to pass for the different courts of law to determine exactly what system to put into place and to determine if Airbnbs are allowed and in what context.
Should Airbnbs still be allowed? Let us know in the comments!
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