Understanding Short-Term Rental Regulations in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most visited cities by tourists and travelers with more than 4.63 million international visitors every year, making it an incredibly popular city for short-term and vacation rentals. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Amsterdam’s short-term rental regulations, so that hosts on platforms such as Airbnb, and Booking.com can remain fully informed and compliant with their local legislation.

Amsterdam Short-Term Rental Regulations Summary

Short-term rentals in Amsterdam must be classified as either a holiday rental or a bed & breakfast, with both categorisations having some different requirements and policies. One may also rent out their property for short stays, which is categorised as a different form of lodging.

Holiday Rentals Regulations Summary

• Obtain permission from the Homeowners Association or from your landlord.
• Only the main resident may rent their entire primary home to others, and cannot be present during the duration of the rental.
• Pay tourist tax to the city and include all revenues in an annual income tax assessment to the Tax and Customs Administration.
• Every time one rents their property, it must be reported to the city.
• One can rent for a maximum of 30 days per year.
• One can only rent to a maximum of four people at once.
• The rental cannot cause any nuisance to neighbours or authorities.
• The residence must be fully compliant with fire safety standards.

Bed & Breakfast Regulations Summary

• Receive permission from the Homeowners Association or from your landlord.
• Register with the city of Amsterdam as a Bed & Breakfast.
• Pay tourist tax to the city and include all revenues in their annual income tax assessment to the Tax and Customs Administration.
• A maximum of 40% of your residence may be rented out.
• You may not rent an independent living space (for example with a private kitchen or separate entrance).
• One can only rent to a maximum of four people at once.
• A guestbook must be kept with:
• Name and address of guests
• Date of arrival and date of departure
• Type of ID the guest provided
• Only the main resident can rent the space, and must be present during the rental.

Short Stays in Amsterdam Compared to Short-Term Rentals

The city of Amsterdam outlines a clear difference in regulation between what is considered a short stay, and what is considered a holiday rental or bed and breakfast. A short stay is the rental of non-subsidised housing (with rent above €710.68) for durations from a minimum of seven nights to a maximum of six months. Short stays are typically best suited for workers or students moving to Amsterdam on a temporary basis, with holiday rentals and bed and breakfasts better suited for visiting travellers and tourists.

Short stay rentals are only allowed in the privatised rental sector, and the owner of a property must first secure a permit for short stay rentals. You can find out more information about Amsterdam’s short stay policies on I Amsterdam.

Holiday Rental and Bed & Breakfast Regulations in Amsterdam

One can only operate a holiday rental or a bed and breakfast in Amsterdam if the property they are renting out is their primary residence. This means that a single person may not operate multiple holiday rentals or bed and breakfasts on various properties belonging to them. Along with this, home owners are not permitted to operate a holiday rental and bed and breakfast at the same address in the same calendar year. This means if a home owner has operated a holiday rental for the maximum limit of 30 days, they must wait until the next calendar year in order to operate again or to register and operate your home as a bed and breakfast.

Holiday Rental Regulations in Amsterdam

To operate a holiday rental on platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway, or Booking.com, the homeowner must report each separate booking before its starting date to the city of Amsterdam. This can be done through the online form on the city’s website, and you will need to have the dates of your guests’ arrival and departure. All holiday rental reports and cancellations are confirmed with a confirmation email which should be kept, as they are necessary for cancellations and to correctly track the amount of nights your holiday rental has operated.

Holiday rentals in Amsterdam must be renting out the entire home without the host living on the property for the duration of the guests’ rental, and can only rent for a maximum of 30 nights a year. Due to this, holiday rentals are only permitted in an independent home: a living space with its own front door and its own facilities. The city of Amsterdam also specifies that your guests should not be causing any inconvenience to neighbours or authorities around your home. Hosts should clearly communicate about tasks like taking out waste properly, the neighbourhood’s hours of reduced noise, and any other rules or considerations pertaining to the area.

Hosts may not offer spaces outside of their home (like gazebos, tents, and boats) for short-term rental. However, if your primary residence is a permitted houseboat you may operate it as a holiday rental. Unreported holiday rentals risk a fine of €6,000 Euros that can be as high as €20,500 depending on the severity and multiplicity of non-compliance from the holiday rental.

Cancelling Holiday Rentals

When cancelling a holiday rental in order to not lose part of your 30 permitted days, you will need the case number of the rentals report you previously filed. The case number can be found in the confirmation email of your holiday rental report. You cannot receive back any of your permitted holiday rental days if the holiday rental has already started, as the city does not allow a partial cancellation of holiday rental days.

You can begin the holiday rental cancellation process by completing the online holiday rental cancellation form. You can also call 14020 if you are having difficulties cancelling your holiday rental. Keep in mind that If you do not manage to cancel your holiday rental before it begins, the designated days will still count towards your 30 permitted days even if no guests came to stay. If you would like to modify a holiday rental report’s duration, you must first cancel the original report before submitting a new report for the correct dates.

If you still have questions about reporting the cancellation of Holiday Rentals, you can find more information on the city of Amsterdam’s page on holiday rentals. While this page is only available in Dutch, if browsing with Google Chrome you can translate the webpage by clicking the Google Translate icon near the top right corner of the window.

Amsterdam’s Bed and Breakfast Regulations

To operate a short-term rental as a bed and breakfast, one must notify the city of Amsterdam by registering by submitting this online form. Once you’ve completed the online form you will receive a confirmation of receipt as proof of registration, and it is your responsibility to ensure that your bed and breakfast meets the required conditions. Be aware that the city of Amsterdam can carry out an inspection at any time to ensure that your bed and breakfast is fully compliant.

A bed and breakfast may only be operated in a section of your home with no nightly limit, and may not be in a stand-alone living space. In the listing or advertisement of your bed and breakfast, you must specify that you are renting out a portion of your home and not the entire property. A bed and breakfast must have a maximum of four sleeping places for four guests, and these must be in fixed bedrooms that are designated for guest use.

The operation of the bed and breakfast must be handled entirely by the main occupant, and cannot be operated if the occupant and operator is away from the property. This means that the main occupier and operator of the property must personally take care of the listing of the bed and breakfast, receiving guests, and collecting payments and information. The cleaning of the property and changing of linen can be outsourced to a third party.

The owner and operator of the bed and breakfast must keep a guestbook in which they record the names and places of residence of each guest, their dates of arrival and departure, and the type of identification document the guest used to check in. Copies of identification documents are not required. If you plan on serving alcoholic beverages in your bed and breakfast, you will need to obtain a drink and hospitality licence from the city of Amsterdam. You can find more information in Dutch on the Dutch Chamber of Commerce webpage which provides a step by step guide to home renovations and zoning permits for bed and breakfasts.

Tourist Tax and Income Tax for Holiday Rentals and B&Bs in Amsterdam

When operating a holiday rental or bed and breakfast in Amsterdam, you are responsible for ensuring tourist tax is remitted to the city along with stating the income from your short-term rental on your income tax return. You can find information about how to properly file your short-term rental income on your income tax return on the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration website.

Amsterdam’s tourist tax must be paid for any overnight accommodation offered in the city to people who are not residents according to the city’s personal records database. Even if you are listing and renting your home through Airbnb, HomeAway, or other platforms that pay the city’s tourist tax on your behalf, you must still register before filing a tourist tax declaration every year. Once registered, you will receive an invitation letter which contains a form number that is necessary for all future tourist tax declarations. In 2020, Amsterdam also added a €3.00 per-person per-night tax (does not apply to children below 16 years-old) for foreign guests staying in hotels or vacation rentals which hosts will need to collect and submit to the city.

One must always make a declaration, even if tourist tax is handled by the platform or service through which you are renting. The rate for Amsterdam’s tourist tax of holiday rentals and bed and breakfasts is 6 percent across the entire city. When making a declaration, the city will ask for the transaction history and an annual overview of your rentals through the service as proof.

Be aware that the city can periodically perform an audit in regards to tourist tax declarations, to ensure the amounts stated in tourist tax returns are correct and complete. These checks can take place for up to five years after your declaration, so be sure to keep orderly records of the rentals you host and the corresponding tourist tax declarations. The city imposes a retention period for all data of a short-term rental of seven years. You can find more information about the city’s tax laws here.

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the regulations discussed in this article. Regulations can change, and we advise you to research the current regulations for your location. While we do our best to keep the information updated, if you find an error, omission, or something that needs an update, please let us know.

Helpful Links Related to Short-Term Rentals in Amsterdam

While this article contains a lot of information regarding short-term rentals in Amsterdam, you might still have additional questions you want to research further. You can find more information about short-term rentals in Amsterdam at the various websites listed below.

City of Amsterdam — Holiday Rental Tourist Tax form: https://www.amsterdam.nl/formulieren/belasting-heffingen/aanmeldingsformulier

City of Amsterdam — Holiday Rentals and Bed & Breakfasts Requirements: https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/housing/holiday-rentals-b-b/

City of Amsterdam — Holiday Rental Cancellation Form: https://formulieren.amsterdam.nl/TriplEforms/LoketAmsterdam/formulier/nl-NL/evAmsterdam/scVakantieverhuurAnnuleren.aspx/Inleiding

KVK Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Dutch language) — Step by Step Guide for Bed & Breakfast: https://ondernemersplein.kvk.nl/stappenplan-bed-breakfast-starten/

City of Amsterdam (Dutch language) — Tourist Tax Registration Form: https://formulier.amsterdam.nl/thema/belasting-heffingen/aanmeldingsformulier

City of Amsterdam (Dutch language) — Tourist Tax Information: https://www.amsterdam.nl/veelgevraagd/?productid=%7bF5FE8785-9B65-443F-9AA7-FD814372C7C2%7d#%7BA0C423A5-F503-42E6-AF68-F8E3C20628D0%7D

City of Amsterdam (Dutch language) — Tourist Tax Audit Information: https://www.amsterdam.nl/belasting-heffingen/ondernemers/toeristenbelasting/administratievoldoen/

City of Amsterdam (Dutch Language) — Tourist Tax Declaration: https://belastingbalie.amsterdam.nl/digid.info.php

Airbnb — Amsterdam Short-Term Rental Regulations: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/860/amsterdam

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