Brussels takes action against illegal Airbnbs

Some 472 apartments listed on holiday rental platform Airbnb have been put back on the long-term rental market in Brussels since 2020, after inspections into 1,200 Airbnb properties revealed many of them were being rented out illegally.

Reasons could include because the buildings do not meet the required safety norms;,or that landlords are accepting too many people to stay in the space available and/or for too much time.

Many police reports have forced owners to make changes, while some 183 landlords have had to close their tourist accommodation altogether.

For Anaïs Maes, Brussels alderwoman for town planning, public spaces and Dutch-language education and affairs, this is good news.

She does not want the capital to end up like other major European cities overrun by Airbnb properties – resulting in higher rents for permanent residents and noise pollution problems.

Maes said that the problem is not small businesses and individual Brussels residents, who she said were welcome to open up their properties if they met the rules.

The City of Brussels’ attention is focused on the big players – large investors. "We really want to get rid of them as they are turning their rental activities into a profitable business model by circumventing the rules that apply to the tourism sector," she added.

“We are lucky to have started in time to avoid the situations we are seeing in Amsterdam and Barcelona.

"We will therefore continue to follow up complaints from residents and the police. In the meantime, we will be keeping a close eye on large companies buying up buildings in the centre.

"It is not only about the impact on rents. We are also getting several complaints about noise pollution and rubbish in neighbourhoods where there are many Airbnb rental properties.

Maes said the city centre, the European district [near the Schuman roundabout] and Saint-Gilles were particularly problematic. In the small streets around the Grand-Place almost a third of homes are affected, she said, with about 2,000 Airbnb homes in the centre of Brussels.

This pressure on housing in the capital, especially the centre, has resulted in higher rents, according to a study by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) last year.

“The supply of rental accommodation in these areas is falling, while prices are rising,” noted VUB professor Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe. “The presence of tourists also increases the value of all the buildings.”

But this situation can change, he said. “By continuing to focus on control and enforcement, Brussels can still turn the tide somewhere. In fact, Airbnb should take responsibility for its actions and share the data with the inspectorate. Unfortunately, Airbnb is only too reluctant to do so.”

Grégory Huon, president at Short Term Rental Belgium, which represents Airbnb landlords, argued that the holiday rental sector was “a motor for the economy”.