New regularisation drive in Brussels targets 5,000 Airbnb properties
The Brussels tax authorities are preparing to launch a new, large-scale regularisation campaign targeting Airbnb accommodation. Around 5,000 files will be examined for the years 2023 to 2025, potentially generating several million euros in revenue for the Brussels Region, business daily L’Echo reported on Tuesday.
The campaign is set to begin after the Christmas holidays and is significantly larger in scope than the first wave last summer. At that time, hundreds of private individuals were confronted with fines running into several thousand euros, in a campaign focused on Airbnb hosts active in 2022. That operation led to the regularisation of around 1,800 properties and generated 2.8 million euros in revenue.
The upcoming wave will cover the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. The Brussels administration expects to process approximately 5,000 cases, with theoretical fines amounting to nearly 7 million euros, in addition to an estimated 6 million euros in tourist accommodation taxes.
In a written response, Airbnb said that local legislation in Brussels is “complex”. “The current situation once again highlights the need for clear and balanced rules for short-term rentals,” the company stated. Airbnb said it wants to engage in dialogue with local policymakers to simplify the regulatory framework, “so that hosts in Brussels can rent out their properties legally and easily”.
Brussels is not the only city tightening its approach to short-term rentals. Over the summer, the coastal city of Ostend announced plans to restrict the number of Airbnb listings in certain areas. Earlier, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp had already introduced measures targeting short-term property rentals.
© Martin BUREAU / AFP
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