Starting May 1, 2016, a new law in Berlin, Germany entitled “Zweckentfremdungsverbot” officially banns the renting of entire apartments to tourists without a permit from the city.
Government officials have said that this law is designed to protect affordable housing within the city. By deterring the renting of apartments on Airbnb and other competitors, Berlin officials are hoping to keep rent as low as possible. Fines for renting out to tourists can be as high as €100,000!
The original law was passed in 2014, but had not been put into effect during a transition period, which ended yesterday. Over the past month, with the new law about to be implemented, Airbnb listings in Berlin fell by over 40%.
What are your thoughts on this law?
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2 comments
As a full time Airbnb host myself, that is tragic. However I can understand how Airbnb can negatively impact a major city in terms of affordable housing. For instance I know NYC is always having the same troubles with housing. Lucky for myself, I’m a host in a big tourist destination but is a relatively poor city with the complete opposite problem, too much housing.
However I will say this is very concerning to me because I hope other cities do not follow suit.. I think Airbnb needs to have the biggest and baddest attorneys at their fingertips !!
Also true in Hong Kong. HK Govt has made it known that it has a department that checks websites for illegal short term tenancies and will follow up with action. Now, as far as I know this action has been pretty limited, but the threat exists…..