Councillors in Amsterdam want the city to crack down on rental platforms where small rooms and apartments that should come under rent controls are advertised for illegally high prices.
In a series of questions to the executive on Wednesday, D66 housing spokesman Suleyman Aslami called for action on misleading adverts on rental websites such as Kamernet, HousingAnywhere, Pararius and Funda.
Since January, when councils began enforcing new good landlordship and affordable rent laws, evidence has emerged of properties incorrectly advertised, for example as costly “short stay” rentals. But some of them should come under strict price controls as well.
Gert Jan Bakker, a consultant at tenants’ rights organisation Woon, has called for rules to ensure rental platforms advertise correctly, for example by reporting the official number of points by every advertisement.
According to Dutch rental rules, each room or property gets a point score based on size and quality: everything up to 143 points can only be rented for up to €900, excluding factual service costs. For new “mid-market” contracts for properties from 144 to 186 points, the maximum rent is €1,185 a month.
Homes with more points can continue to charge market rates. But Aslemi pointed out advertisements on HousingAnywhere, with “Oscar” asking for €1,500 a month for a room of 15 square metres and “Alexander” advertising one of 25 square metres for €1,650 – both, clearly, illegal prices.
“I see ads for rooms, apartments or studios that are clearly against [the affordable rent law] and other laws that we have that regulate our housing market,” Aslami told Dutch News. “The platforms think that they can escape our law by allowing ads that are obviously illegal. They have the duty to moderate and not allow advertisements that are against existing laws and regulations.”
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He said that the inaction of the platforms – which make money from the advertisements – is undermining laws intended to protect tenants and keep cities affordable. And, he added, students and internationals who are unaware of their rights or have few choices are generally the victims.
“What makes it even more outrageous is the fact that many of the advertisers are ‘verified’ people – whatever that means,” he added. “But clearly the platforms’ existing measures [to avoid advertising unlawful property] don’t work properly if these illegal ads are online.”
An investigation by RTL Nieuws last week suggested that some landlords are ignoring the laws and continuing to advertise illegally high rents via platforms such as Funda. The Woonbond, which supports tenant rights, encouraged renters to have their rent checked by the rental commission, a low-cost dispute resolution service for social housing.
Dutch News has asked Funda, Kamernet, Pararius and HousingAnywhere for a reaction.
