Amsterdam city council is no longer planning to stop people using websites such as Airbnb to rent out their homes to holidaymakers, website nu.nl reported on Friday.

Council research shows holiday rentals can be a boost to tourism and the city’s economy, nu.nl quoted officials as saying. Amsterdam is Airbnb’s sixth most popular location.

Earlier this year, the city said it planned to take steps to stop people renting out their homes on a temporary basis. New York and Quebec have already made similar moves.

Hotels

The council said many of the short-stay flats on offer do not meet the safety standards required of hotels. In addition, the properties were effectively being withdrawn from the housing market, adding to the shortage of affordable homes in Amsterdam.

The council has now concluded that people renting out their own homes for short periods only affects 1% of the city’s housing and less than 2% of the overnight stays.

However, the council will not allow homes to be rented out if there is nuisance to neighbours, if fire safety is not in order and if the renting is being done professionally.

‘The owner must actually live in the house,’ a council spokesman said. Nor will people living in rent-controlled housing be allowed to advertise their apartments as holiday homes.

Tourists will have to pay tourist tax, no more than four people can be allowed to stay in the property and landlords and other home owners in the same block will also have to be consulted, nu.nl reported.