Amsterdam imposes $319,000 fine for illegal renting on AirBnB

The Hague, Feb 7 (IANS) Amsterdam has imposed a record fine of $319,000 to a property owner and a rental agency who did not comply with related legislation, a media report said on Tuesday.

The property owner and the agency called Iamb&b together rented out 11 apartments on AirBnB without complying with the law, Xinhua news agency reported.

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.

The apartments located in one building caught the attention of the authorities after local residents reported suspected housing fraud.

Through digital investigations, the authorities 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 $14,456 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 councillor of Amsterdam.

"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.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)