The number of Amsterdam homes advertised on holiday rental side Airbnb rose again this year, hitting 19,889 on July 1, according to city council figures. That is up over 500 on a year ago, city officials said.

‘The stabilisation expected in January did not happen,’ mayor Femke Halsema said in a briefing to city councillors. ‘This is pressuring the balance between living and tourism in Amsterdam.’

Home owners can rent out their property through holiday rental platforms for no more than 60 days a year and to no more than four people at one time. Landlords also have to register each let with the city council.

Next January the maximum period for rentals will be cut to 30 days and officials are also looking at bringing in total bans in the busiest parts of the city.

People caught breaking the rules can be fined €6,000 for a first offence, mounting to €20,000 for repeated illegal rentals.

City officials handed out 148 fines in the first six months of this year and closed 61 apartments which were being rented out illegally to too many people.