New rules for the Amsterdam housing market

Amsterdam is further tightening the rules for tourist rentals and room rentals. The municipality may prohibit holiday rentals in certain neighbourhoods. Room rentals are subject to a maximum per neighbourhood and per property.

From 1 January 2020 new housing regulations will apply in Amsterdam. They contain the rules that apply to the use, occupancy and letting of properties in Amsterdam. In this blog we list some important new rules for you. Also, tenants are not allowed to rent out without permission from the owner. Apartment owners are usually not allowed to let apartments without the permission from the association of owners (VvE) and the mortgage lender.

Holiday rentals

Amsterdam continues to be a tourist attraction where tourists like to stay for a few days. Due to the limited availability of hotel rooms (and high house prices), many properties in Amsterdam are rented out to for short periods of time, whether or not through platforms as, for instance, Airbnb. According to the municipal rules, this is allowed, if:

• a maximum of 30 days a year
• to a maximum of 4 tourists at a time
• Guests do not cause inconvenience
• the landlord is the principal occupant of the property and is registered there
• the landlord reports each rental to the municipality in advance and pays tourist and income tax
• the house is not owned by a housing corporation

In order to ensure the liveability in certain neighbourhoods, the municipality may prohibit holiday rentals.

If the main occupant stays in the house while part of it is rented out, this is referred to as B&B rental. For this, a permit is required. There is a maximum number of permits per district, which are valid for a maximum of 8 years.

As of 1 July 2020, the municipality of Amsterdam will further tighten the rules. As a result of a decision by the Supreme Court holiday rentals are considered as withdrawal from the housing stock, for which a permit is always required. Rentals without a permit but only a registration requirement are thus no longer permitted. Holiday rentals will be prohibited in the area of the Burgwallen and the Southern Canal Ring. In these districts, permits will no longer be issued. The new rules will change nothing for owners of a B&B.

Room rentals

In Amsterdam the purchase and rental prices of properties are so high that starters, students and singles are often dependent on renting a room. When letting rooms, landlords must take the following rules into account:

• For rentals to 3 or more adults per property, a permit is required.
• Per building or row of houses a permit for room rental may be issued to a maximum of 25% of the apartments or properties. If a building has fewer than four apartments, only one of the apartments may be used for room rental.
• Only one adult may live in each room, unless they are spouses or registered partners.
• Tenants must register with the municipality. As a consequence, the municipality can revoke room rental permits if fewer than 3 tenants live in a property. So be careful not to fall below the minimum of 3 tenants if you have a permit. In view of the maximum number of permits issued, it may be difficult to get a permit back.

As of 1 April 2020, there will be a maximum number of permits for room rental per neighbourhood.

Also landlady/landlord rentals (hospita-rentals), sharing the house with the main occupant, will be limited. From now on, a landlady/landlord is only allowed to live with 1 household. In addition, the landlady/landlord is not allowed to rent out until they lived at the address for at least two years.

Houseboats

From now on, the same regime will apply to houses on land and on water. Houseboats are now also included in the housing regulations. The deviating rules have been abolished.

More information

Would you like to learn more about the possibilities of letting (part of) your property? Or do you have any other questions about renting/letting or renovation of real estate? Please contact us: