Tenants sublet properties on Airbnb without permission and leave bills unpaid

“Brand-new impressive flat in a former post office in the very heart of the city centre.” That’s how Dirk’s flat in Antwerp was advertised on Airbnb. Except that Dirk himself never listed his flat on the online booking platform.

It turns out that it was Dirk’s tenants, Robert-Jan R. and Nathalie H., who listed the flat for rent on Airbnb. Outside the summer season, a night costs 161 euros. When there is high demand for accommodation in Antwerp – for example, during dance music festival Tomorrowland – you pay 500 euros for a night.

‘The tenant was a nice woman, at first glance. They paid their rent on time for the first few months, but then that stopped. And then I discovered that they were also letting it out via Airbnb,’ says Dirk.

A unique business model?

Dirk, the landlord, first let the property to these tenants four years ago, but since then they seem to have been moving from one property to another. Our team spoke to seven landlords – six in Antwerp and one in Ghent – who had experienced the same problems with the same tenants.

Joke is probably the last person to have had these tenants in her property: “They started renting from us on 1 September 2025. Right from the start, it turned out that the rent deposit wasn’t paid. And after four months, they stopped paying the rent.”

Joke also discovered that her house was listed on Airbnb. “We found out because the neighbours were complaining that there were constantly different groups of people, parties and noise at night. So, we started searching online and found our house listed on Airbnb,” she explains. “And that’s when we also realised that the same account listed several properties at the same time.”

Furthermore, when tenants are evicted, items regularly go missing from the properties. Adrien, a landlord who let the property to the couple in 2025, reported the theft of a washing machine, a tumble dryer, a sofa and a vacuum cleaner to the police.

Airbnb points to the landlord’s responsibility

Some landlords, such as Dirk, tried writing to Airbnb themselves in an attempt to have the listing for their property taken down. “We believe that contacting your tenant directly is the simplest way to resolve this type of complaint,” Airbnb told Dirk in a response we were able to view.

VRT NEWS also contacted Airbnb to ask how they resolve this sort of conflict. “We take reports of unauthorised listings seriously,” the company states. “Among other things, we advise tenants to review their tenancy agreement and check whether subletting is permitted under the terms of their contract.”

At the same time, Airbnb highlights the responsibility of the landlord. “If, in exceptional cases, a problem arises, we encourage the parties involved to first try to reach a solution directly with one another,” the company says.

‘I even sent Airbnb the court order after the tenants had been evicted. Even that wasn’t enough,’ says Dirk, who is disappointed by the platform’s response. His tenancy agreement is clear. Subletting is only permitted with the landlord’s ‘written consent’. And that consent wasn’t given, says Dirk.