Amsterdam city council cannot cope with the explosive growth in the number of people letting their homes via sites like Airbnb and needs to spend €500,000 on extra inspectors, the Parool said at the weekend.

Laurens Ivens, the city council executive in charge of housing, told the paper the city has 22 full time inspectors to ensure rules are not broken but that this is not enough to investigate all the complaints.

Over 200 formal complaints about illegal holiday letting and nuisance had been received by the council hotline by July but this is only a fraction of the true number, the Parool said.

Rules

Amsterdam city council recently agreed new rules for private holiday rentals. Owners have to pay tourist tax and cannot rent out their home for more than 60 days a year.

Talks with Airbnb itself have not had results, Ivens said. ‘They have the rental details and could help us but they are reluctant to do so,’ he said.

‘But it is in their interests to ensure there are good quality properties to let. Airbnb clients are not happy when confronted with officials on the doorstep at 8am.’

An investigation by the Volkskrant this summer found many people are flouting the council’s rules.