Understanding Short-Term Rental Regulations in Amsterdam

Last reviewed: 27 July 2026. Amsterdam reduced the night cap in central districts on 1 April 2026. If you are working from an older guide, the headline number may be wrong for your address.

The short version

• You must be the main resident. Amsterdam holiday rental is for people letting the home they actually live in. Investment properties do not qualify.
• 30 nights per calendar year, and only 15 nights in parts of Centrum and De Pijp since 1 April 2026.
• Maximum 4 people at a time, children included.
• You need a permit and a registration number, both before your first booking.
• You must notify the city before every single rental. Not once a year. Every time.
• Some streets are banned outright, with no permit available at any price.
• The city runs an algorithm against your address, cross-referencing listings with the population and buildings registers.
• Renting without a permit, or failing to notify in advance, carries a fine of €1,500 for private hosts and €3,000 for business operators, with higher penalties for other offences.
• Holiday rental and bed & breakfast are different regimes. Do not mix them up.

Two different things: vakantieverhuur and B&B

Amsterdam separates these and the rules are not interchangeable.

Vakantieverhuur (holiday rental) is where you let your whole home and you are not there during the guest's stay. This is what most people mean by Airbnb. Capped at 30 nights a year, or 15 in the designated central areas.

Bed & breakfast is where you let a room or part of your home and you are present during the stay. It may be operated year-round, but no more than roughly 40% of the home may be given over to it, it requires a different permit, and permits are capped by district quota.

You cannot hold both at the same address.

Source: Gemeente Amsterdam, Vergunning vakantieverhuur aanvragen (Dutch)

At a glance

Question	Short answer
Must I live there?	Yes, you must be the registered main resident
Night cap	30 per calendar year; 15 in parts of Centrum and De Pijp
Guest cap	4 people at a time, including children
Permit needed?	Yes, before your first booking
Registration number needed?	Yes, separately from the permit
Report each booking?	Yes, in advance, every time
Can I let a social housing home?	No
Am I safe if I rent from a private landlord?	Only with the owner's written permission
Does my building get a say?	If you are in a VvE, you may need its permission
Are some areas banned entirely?	Yes, specific streets and blocks

The night cap, and the 2026 reduction

The default is 30 nights per calendar year. Since 1 April 2026, parts of Centrum and De Pijp are limited to 15 nights.

Two details from the city's own guidance that catch people out:

The cap follows the home, not the person. If you move into a property partway through the year, nights already let by the previous resident in that same calendar year count towards your annual maximum. If you are buying or renting somewhere with a letting history, ask.

Airbnb may block your calendar automatically when you reach the cap, but the legal responsibility for staying within it is yours regardless of what any platform does.

Because the reduced cap applies to designated parts of districts rather than whole districts, check your specific address against the city's current rules rather than assuming your district's headline figure applies to you.

The permit, the number, and the notification

Three separate things, and you need all three.

1. The permit (vergunning vakantieverhuur)

Applied for before your first booking. Conditions include:

• You are the registered main resident named on the permit, at the address on the permit
• You may not let a social housing property from a housing corporation
• You may not also operate a bed & breakfast at the same address
• If you rent privately, you need the owner's permission
• If you live in a VvE (owners' association), you may need its permission
• You may not let spaces outside the dwelling, such as garden houses, tents or boats

Permits are annual and must be reapplied for.

2. The registration number

Separate from the permit. You must apply for a tourist rental registration number and it must appear on your listings.

3. The notification, every single time

This is the obligation most often missed. Before each rental period, you notify the city digitally, using your permit number and DigiD.

Missing a notification is a breach in its own right, independent of whether you stayed within your nights. You can be entirely within your 30 nights and still be fined for failing to notify.

Streets where it is simply not allowed

Amsterdam has designated specific areas where holiday rental is prohibited outright and no permit is available. Reporting indicates these include particular streets in Centrum, parts of Oud-Zuid, and certain blocks in De Pijp.

The prohibition list is maintained by the city and changes. Check your address before you plan anything.

How Amsterdam enforces

Worth understanding, because it explains why record-keeping matters here more than in most cities.

An algorithm scores your address. The Municipality of Amsterdam operates a risk-scoring system that cross-references rental listings against the population register (BRP) and the buildings register (BAG) to estimate the likelihood that a property is being let illegally. It is publicly documented in the Dutch government's Algorithm Register. The algorithm draws on data from illegal holiday rental cases over the preceding five years and is used to prioritise limited enforcement capacity.

Reports from neighbours feed in. The municipality receives reports from residents who suspect a property is being let improperly, and Supervision & Enforcement staff investigate. The algorithm prioritises which reports get attention.

There is a dedicated enforcement team conducting physical inspections.

The burden of proof is on you. Dutch courts have held that a host's own screenshots do not constitute evidence. If you are challenged on specific dates, you need something better than your phone gallery.

Sources: Algorithm Register of the Dutch government, Enforcing illegal holiday rentals (English) and Gemeente Amsterdam, Reporting holiday rentals (English)

Fines

The city's own guidance states that renting without a permit, or failing to notify a holiday rental in advance, carries a fine of:

• €1,500 for a private individual
• €3,000 for a business operator

Higher penalties apply to other offences. Reporting has cited figures well into five digits for matters such as exceeding the permitted nights or unlawfully withdrawing a home from the housing stock (woningonttrekking), which is treated as a distinct and more serious breach.

Because penalty schedules are published by the city and revised, and because the Council of State has previously ruled on the binding status of the city's fine table, check the current published overview rather than relying on a figure from any guide.

Tax

Tourist tax (toeristenbelasting)

Amsterdam charges tourist tax as a percentage of the accommodation price rather than a flat per-night amount, which is unusual. Reporting puts it at 12.5% of the nightly rate for 2026, and it is among the highest in Europe on that basis.

Airbnb, Booking.com and other major platforms generally collect and remit it on your behalf. For direct bookings taken outside a platform, you collect and remit it yourself through the city's form, and you still need to register your property with the city's tax department and file an annual return.

Verify the current percentage with the municipality before pricing, since it has moved.

VAT and income tax

Dutch VAT treatment of short-stay accommodation moved to the higher rate in January 2026. Rental income is also subject to income tax. Both are fact-specific, and Dutch tax treatment of property depends on how the activity is characterised, so take advice from a Dutch accountant.

The VvE question

If your building has an owners' association, its rules operate independently of anything the municipality permits. A VvE can prohibit or restrict holiday letting in its own regulations, and many Amsterdam VvEs have.

The city's own guidance flags that you may need VvE permission. Check the association's rules before applying for a permit, not after.

A practical checklist

1. Confirm you are the registered main resident at the address
2. Check whether your specific address is in a prohibited street or a 15-night zone
3. Ask whether nights were already let at the property this calendar year by a previous resident
4. Check your VvE rules, and get the freeholder's or landlord's written permission if you rent
5. Apply for the permit before taking any booking
6. Apply for the registration number and put it on every listing
7. Set up a reliable process to notify the city before every single rental period
8. Keep your guest count to 4, including children
9. Register with the city for tourist tax, and handle direct bookings yourself
10. Keep independent, contemporaneous records of which nights were actually let

Verified official sources

• Gemeente Amsterdam, applying for a holiday rental permit (Dutch)
• Gemeente Amsterdam, reporting holiday rentals (English)
• Algorithm Register of the Dutch government, enforcement of illegal holiday rentals (English)

Named, not linked

• Huisvestingswet and the Amsterdam Huisvestingsverordening, the legal basis for the permit regime
• The city's published fine overview (overzicht van alle boetes), available via amsterdam.nl
• The city's list of streets and areas where holiday rental is prohibited
• Gemeente Amsterdam Belastingen, for tourist tax registration and returns
• Official municipal decisions are published in the Gemeenteblad, which is the authoritative record

Important disclaimer

This article is not legal, tax or financial advice. It is general information written for a non-specialist reader, by a key management company rather than a law firm.

Amsterdam's rules change frequently and, critically, they vary by address rather than only by district. The reduction to 15 nights applies to designated parts of Centrum and De Pijp, specific streets are prohibited outright, and the prohibition list is updated. Fine levels have been the subject of litigation. Your VvE's rules can override what the municipality permits.

Check your specific address against amsterdam.nl and the Gemeenteblad before acting. For anything with real money or legal exposure attached, engage a Dutch lawyer or accountant familiar with Amsterdam's housing regulations.

If you spot an error, an omission, or something that needs updating, please tell us and we will fix it.