The owner of an illegal Airbnb property including four flats has taken advertisements for the properties off rental sites after alderwoman Anaïs Maes (Flemish socialist Vooruit.brussels) intervened. The owner of the properties had asked her four tenants to leave so that she could earn extra cash through the Airbnb platform. ‘Anti-social behaviour,’ says Maes, who is pleased that the owner has changed her mind. The owner will now sell the building.
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“A third of properties in some streets in the City of Brussels are Airbnbs”
Colin Clapson
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The properties advertised on the Airbnb platform, located near the Umamido restaurant in the Sint-Katelijne district of the City of Brussels, received an unexpected visit from the alderwoman and police on Tuesday. Maes wanted to have the building sealed after previous warnings had gone unheeded.
Homeowners in Brussels are indeed allowed to advertise properties on the Airbnb platform, but rules must be obeyed. ‘I am not at all against Airbnbs, but they must respect the regulations,’ Maes says. According to the Brussels alderwoman for urban development and public spaces, the building on the Sint-Katelijneplein is a textbook example of how not to do it.
Maxing income on Airbnb
The owner of the building had asked her four tenants to leave under the pretext of renovating the building. The owner then decided to list the flats on Airbnb in order to maximise her own income. A former tenant soon realised that his former flat was being occupied by tourists. He filed a complaint with the local council and the alderwoman launched an investigation.
After several warnings, the city planned to seal the building. Ultimately, this did not happen because the owner took the advertisements off rental sites. ‘Properties must comply with their designated use. If the property in question is returned to the housing market, the violation of the regulations will end,’ explains Maes. ‘We will continue to monitor the building closely.’ The owner is now reportedly planning to sell the building.
Disgusting and inhumane
According to Maes, this case perfectly illustrates why the authorities should intervene. ‘Real Brussels residents are being evicted from their homes to maintain a revenue model. That is disgusting and inhumane. Research by the Flemish Free University of Brussels, the VUB, also shows that Airbnbs are driving up rents. This is antisocial behaviour that we will continue to oppose.’
Maes points out that Airbnb landlords must be registered at the address of the Airbnb property. They are allowed to offer the property for rent on rental sites such as Airbnb, booking.com and others for a maximum of 120 days per year.
"A third of the properties"
The City of Brussels is combating the proliferation of Airbnb properties within the city limits. ‘Research shows that across the region, 1 to 2 per cent of the housing stock is used for tourist rentals. But if you zoom in on the boroughs of the City of Brussels, Elsene and Sint-Gillis, that figure suddenly skyrockets.’
This is certainly the case in the city centre, ‘where sometimes a third of the homes in some streets are offered as Airbnb apartments’. ‘We have already sealed properties in the past and will continue to do so in the future,’ concludes Maes.