Airbnb rules in Belgium and the Netherlands (2026)

Short-term letting is legal in both countries, but different authorities set the rules. In Belgium the regions do: Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia each make you register the unit before the first guest, with fire safety conditions, and urban planning rules come on top.¹⁸¹³ In the Netherlands the municipalities do: holiday letting of a whole home in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague is only for the home you live in, with a registration number and a cap of 15 to 60 nights a year.¹⁹²⁰²³²⁵

Key takeaways

Belgium regulates by region: register with Toerisme Vlaanderen, Brussels Economy and Employment or Tourisme Wallonie before you let, and check urban planning with the municipality.¹⁸¹³
Amsterdam caps holiday letting at 30 nights a year, and at 15 in eight neighbourhoods since 1 April 2026; Rotterdam allows 60 and The Hague 30.¹⁹²⁰²³²⁵
Registration does not replace a permit: Rotterdam says so explicitly, and an Antwerp court convicted two companies that let apartments without the permits.²³⁴
VAT on VAT-liable furnished accommodation in Belgium rose from 6% to 12% on 1 March 2026; Dutch VAT on accommodation rose to 21% on 1 January 2026.²⁷²⁹
Brussels plans simpler rules for private hosts from 1 January 2027.¹²

In this guide

How to use this guide
Belgium: Flanders
Belgium: Brussels-Capital Region
Belgium: Wallonia
The Netherlands
VAT on accommodation
Tourist tax
Apartment buildings: VME and VvE rules
Letting out a home you rent
A pre-signing checklist per unit
Summary: the rules by place
Questions people ask
Sources

How to use this guide

This summarises the official pages as we found them on 15 September 2026; it is not legal or tax advice. For every unit, open the official page in the summary table and read what public rules do not cover: the lease, the building’s statutes and the insurance policy. If you manage for owners, agree who registers, files tourist tax and pays fines in your management agreement. The EU layer above all this, including the registration number platforms check, is in EU short-term rental regulation 2024/1028.

In Belgium, one more question concerns you rather than the unit. The BIV, the professional institute of estate agents, describes taking over the management of property from private owners as the work of the protected profession of vastgoedmakelaar-rentmeester.³³ Whether that covers short-term rental management is not settled in the sources we checked, so ask a Belgian lawyer before you sign owners; how to start a co-hosting business explains what that means in practice.

Belgium: Flanders

The Flemish Logiesdecreet has applied since 1 April 2017 to every accommodation offered to tourists for payment, professionally or occasionally. Only letting to family, friends and acquaintances without promoting it anywhere is exempt.¹

Registration and the nine basic conditions

You register online with Toerisme Vlaanderen and receive a unique registration number, which platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com must ask for. Once registered and compliant you may start letting without waiting for an inspection; checks happen at random, after a complaint or when in doubt.¹ Every unit must meet nine basic conditions:¹

It is registered with Toerisme Vlaanderen.
It meets fire safety standards, shown by a fire safety certificate.
It meets minimum standards of comfort, cleanliness and upkeep.
You hold fire insurance and civil liability insurance for the unit and its operation.
The operator has not been convicted of certain offences.
It is let for at least one night, never by the hour.
You hold proof of ownership, or a lease that allows the letting.
You describe the unit truthfully.
It complies with urban planning rules and permits, which the municipality checks, not Toerisme Vlaanderen.

The fire safety standards behind condition 2 also set maintenance duties after registration, such as a detector check every three months and a yearly fire extinguisher check; see fire safety for registered accommodation.

What the 2026 amendment changes

Toerisme Vlaanderen says an amendment follows later in 2026 on the unique registration number and on proving urban planning conformity.¹ According to VRT NWS in July 2026, the Flemish government’s draft makes platforms share their offer monthly, takes unregistered listings offline, and lets an owner whose lease forbids tourist subletting ask Toerisme Vlaanderen to act. Parliament still had to approve it.⁵

Antwerp

In Antwerp you also need a correct environmental permit under the local zoning plans, the building must be permitted for tourist stays, and the city building code applies.² The overnight tax for room-based accommodation is €3.20 per tourist per night excluding VAT, with guests under 12 exempt, declared within 14 days after each quarter.³ Owners of homes where nobody is registered as living there also pay a tax on homes without registered residents.²

Watch out: Antwerp enforces the permit rules

In June 2026 the Antwerp court convicted two companies that let 23 of 25 apartments on the Italiëlei, permitted only as housing, as Airbnb units. Each was fined €28,000, suspended for three years, profits of €37,500 and €25,000 were confiscated, and the letting had to stop within two months on penalty of €1,000 per apartment per day.⁴

Ghent

Ghent’s urban planning framework applies to new tourist accommodation since 11 April 2019; units with an earlier permit keep it.⁶

No permit needed when tourist letting is a secondary use: under 50% of the floor area, at most 100 m² and at most 3 rooms for 9 people.
No permit, but limited in time when it is the main use of a large house or an apartment: at most 4 periods a year of up to 30 consecutive days. This is not allowed in protected single-family houses, those under 220 m².
Not permitted is turning an apartment, studio or protected house into tourist accommodation as its main use without a time limit.

Ghent’s tourist accommodation tax is charged per person aged 18 or over per night and declared per semester. For a holiday home in 2026 to 2028 it is €3.93 excluding VAT when the operator is registered as living at the address on the first day of the semester, and €6.61 when not.⁷

Belgium: Brussels-Capital Region

In Brussels you register with Brussels Economy and Employment before letting for 1 night to 90 consecutive days, even for your principal residence and even for under four months a year.⁸

Urban planning. A certificate of conformity is compulsory for every category, including a principal residence.⁸
One number per unit, tied to one operator and address.⁸
Principal residence cap. A tourist residence that is the operator’s main residence may be open to guests at most four months a year.¹⁰
After registration. Show the number in every advertisement, keep liability insurance, and renew the five-year fire certificate six months before it expires.⁹
Tax. Register with Brussels Fiscality within 31 days of opening, or risk €1,000 per accommodation unit, and declare stays monthly. Since the 2026 tax year it is €5 per accommodation unit per night including municipal surcharges, €4 for homestays.¹¹

According to La Libre Belgique, in July 2026 the Brussels government adopted the decree implementing a new ordinance for private hosts letting to fewer than 10 people, applying from 1 January 2027. Owner-occupiers would no longer need the urban planning certificate, and the safety certificate would cost €150 through a written procedure instead of €250.¹²

Belgium: Wallonia

In Wallonia, anyone offering tourist accommodation for payment, even occasionally, must register it online with Tourisme Wallonie before letting, with a fire safety or simplified inspection certificate and a criminal record extract under six months old. The number stays valid while those documents are, and can be suspended if the fire certificate expires or urban planning rules are broken.¹³

Since 30 January 2023, creating new tourist accommodation such as a furnished holiday home in an existing building also needs an urban planning permit from the municipality, even for occasional letting; rooms in your own home with fewer than six bedrooms are exempt.¹⁴

The Netherlands

Dutch law lets each municipality decide whether to require a registration number, a maximum number of nights and a notification per stay; some also add a permit or letting periods.¹⁵ Where a number applies, you request it from the municipality where the home is. Existing advertisers get at most six months; after that, or when the night cap is reached, the municipality can have a platform make the listing unbookable.¹⁶

The law implementing the EU short-term rental regulation, bill 36904, passed the Tweede Kamer on 18 June 2026 and the Eerste Kamer on 7 July 2026. It enters into force on a date set by royal decree; we found no date on 15 September 2026, so check your municipality’s page.¹⁷¹⁸

Amsterdam

Under the Huisvestingsverordening Amsterdam 2024, holiday letting of your whole home while you are away needs all of this:¹⁹

A registration number in every advertisement.
A permit, only if you are registered in the population register (BRP) at the address and it is the centre of your life; not for housing corporation homes. It is personal and valid for the calendar year plus three months.
A notification before every stay.
At most four guests, in a self-contained home, without unacceptable nuisance.
A night cap of 30 nights per calendar year.

Since 1 April 2026 the cap is 15 nights in eight neighbourhoods: Burgwallen-Nieuwe Zijde, De Weteringschans, Grachtengordel-West, Grachtengordel-Zuid, Haarlemmerbuurt, Jordaan, Nieuwmarkt/Lastage and Oude Pijp. The city first planned 11, but after its 2025 nuisance survey only eight still met the criteria, so older articles may list the wrong ones.²⁰ The last step on the city’s escalation ladder is a temporary stop in a neighbourhood, in principle for three years.³²

For a private host, a first fine is €1,500 for letting without a permit, number, notification or BRP registration, €2,500 for exceeding the cap by fewer than 5 nights or for one guest too many, €5,000 for 5 or more nights or two or more guests too many, and €9,000 for letting a home you do not actually live in. A second offence within four years costs 150% of the first fine, up to €10,300 for the administrative offences and €25,750 for the others.¹⁹

Rotterdam

For holiday letting in Rotterdam you must own or be the main resident of the home, be registered there in the BRP, and keep it furnished for your own living. The cap is 60 nights per calendar year. A free registration number from toeristischeverhuur.nl goes in every advertisement but is not permission to let, and every night must be notified in advance. Smoke detectors are compulsory on every floor, you need the landlord’s or VvE’s consent where relevant, housing corporation homes are excluded, and fines can run into thousands of euros. A bed and breakfast, where you are at home, has no night cap but may cover at most 30% of the floor area, up to 70 m².²³

The Hague

The Hague requires a holiday rental permit: you must live in the self-contained home and be registered there, with at least 12 m² of floor area per guest. The permit costs €131.20, lasts three years and takes up to eight weeks; you get the registration number at once and may advertise, but may only let once the permit is granted. The cap is 30 nights per calendar year and each stay is notified in advance. A tenant needs the owner’s written consent, and in a VvE building you check first whether letting is allowed.²⁵

Worked example: What the night caps mean for a year of holiday letting

Three hosts let the home they live in while they travel. Prices are invented.

Host	Cap	Price per night excl. VAT	Accommodation revenue	Tourist tax
Jordaan, Amsterdam	15 nights	€180	€2,700	€337.50 (12.5%)
Oud-West, Amsterdam	30 nights	€160	€4,800	€600 (12.5%)
Kralingen, Rotterdam	60 nights	€110	€6,600	€429 (6.5%)

Both are 2026 rates on the price excluding VAT.²¹²⁴ Platform fees, cleaning and VAT are left out; in a real Amsterdam booking, tourist tax is also charged on the cleaning fee.²² The Rotterdam host earns most at the lowest price, because the cap sets the ceiling.

An illustration, not a projection for a real home.

The short-stay plan

The Dutch government wants to cap short-stay letting, which has no tenant protection, at 30 days. The bill was in consultation from 2 July to 28 August 2026 and is not law.³¹ It matters if you plan mid-term rentals.

VAT on accommodation

The hard part is whether the letting is VAT-liable at all (VAT on accommodation). Ask a tax adviser before you set prices.

Belgium: 12% since 1 March 2026

Belgian VAT on furnished accommodation rose from 6% to 12% on 1 March 2026, with 6% still applying to bookings made before 1 March 2026 and paid by 30 June 2026.²⁷ Letting a home is normally VAT-exempt, but furnished accommodation becomes VAT-liable for stays under three months when the operator provides at least one of: physical reception for a large part of the day, bed or bath linen, or daily breakfast.²⁸

Linen counts easily. Making bed or bath linen available at the start of a stay of up to a week is enough.²⁸
A key handover is not reception, whether you hand over the key yourself or guests collect it from an intermediary.²⁸
No small business exemption. It has been excluded since 1 January 2022, so you need a VAT number and returns, unless the sharing economy regime for private individuals on recognised platforms applies.²⁸

Worked example: Is this Ghent flat VAT-liable?

An owner lets a Ghent flat for two to four nights at a time. Guests use a lockbox and find bed linen and towels ready. There is no reception or breakfast.

Stays are under three months and linen is provided, so under the Belgian tax authority’s FAQ the letting is VAT-liable, at 12% since 1 March 2026.²⁸²⁷ At €120 per night including VAT, the VAT is €120 × 12 / 112 = €12.86, leaving €107.14 before platform fees, cleaning and commission. Without linen, reception or breakfast, the same flat would be exempt.²⁸

An illustration of the criteria, not tax advice for a real unit.

The Netherlands: 21% since 1 January 2026

Dutch accommodation has been taxed at 21% since 1 January 2026. Separately offered facilities such as breakfast stay at 9%, and an all-in price is split by market value.²⁹ How your management commission is taxed is covered in Airbnb co-host fees.

Tourist tax

Tourist tax is set by the municipality, or by the region in Brussels, and filing rules differ as much as rates. Airbnb collects it from guests on its bookings in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.²² In Rotterdam you still file every three months, and pay it yourself if you also use platforms such as Booking.com.²⁴ In the Belgian cities the operator registers and declares.¹¹³⁷

Tourist tax on short-term rentals, 2026 rates checked on 15 September 2026

Place	Rate	Basis	Who files	Source
Antwerp	€3.20	Per tourist per night in room-based accommodation, excl. VAT, under 12 exempt	Operator, quarterly	³
Ghent	€3.93 or €6.61	Per person 18 or over per night, excl. VAT; lower rate if you live there	Operator, per semester	⁷
Brussels	€5 (homestay €4)	Per accommodation unit per night, surcharges included	Operator, monthly on MyTax	¹¹
Amsterdam	12.5%	Price per night excl. VAT, cleaning fee included	Airbnb collects for its bookings	²¹²²
Rotterdam	6.5%	Price per night excl. VAT, extras included	Airbnb collects; you still file quarterly	²⁴
The Hague	€6.20	Per guest aged 13 or over per night	Airbnb collects; holiday renters file yearly	²²²⁶

In Belgium, whether VAT applies to a tourist tax you pass on depends on who the municipal regulation names as the taxpayer.²⁷ To see what tax and fees leave an owner, use the revenue calculator.

Apartment buildings: VME and VvE rules

In a co-owned building, the owners’ association (VME or VvE) can matter as much as the city. In Belgium, according to the BIV, the institute for real estate agents, a VME cannot impose a general letting ban, but a four-fifths majority of the general meeting can add a specific ban to the statutes, for example on letting through online platforms.³⁰ Rotterdam requires the VvE’s consent before holiday letting, and The Hague tells VvE members to check first whether letting is allowed.²³²⁵ Guest registers, camera rules and fire safety still apply when guests let themselves in; see self check-in and the guest register.

Letting out a home you rent

Whether a tenant may let a rented home to tourists depends on the lease and rental law; in Flanders a lease that allows it is one of the nine basic conditions.¹ In July 2026 VRT NWS reported on Antwerp tenants who let owners’ homes on Airbnb without permission.⁵ More on this in co-hosting vs rental arbitrage vs buying.

A pre-signing checklist per unit

Official page. Open the page in the summary table and note the date.
Registration. Is the unit registered, in whose name, and is the number in every listing?¹⁸¹³
Permits. Does the unit have the urban planning or holiday rental permit it needs?²⁶²⁵
Residence. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, does the owner live in the home and appear in the BRP there?¹⁹²³²⁵
Night cap. How many nights are left this year, and who notifies them?
Fire safety and insurance. Is the certificate valid, and does the insurance cover short-term letting? See damage claims and insurance.
Building and lease. Do the statutes and lease allow it?³⁰
VAT and tourist tax. Is the letting VAT-liable, who files the tourist tax, and does the platform collect it?²⁸²²
In writing. Who does each of these, and who pays a fine?

Summary: the rules by place

Main short-term rental rules by place, checked on 15 September 2026

Place	Register with	Night cap	Must live there	Official page
Flanders	Toerisme Vlaanderen	None found	No	Logiesdecreet
Antwerp	Toerisme Vlaanderen, city tax	None found	No, but a permit for tourist use	Stad Antwerpen
Ghent	Toerisme Vlaanderen, city tax	4 periods of 30 days as main use without permit	No	Stad Gent
Brussels	Brussels Economy and Employment, Brussels Fiscality	Four months a year for a main residence	No	Brussels Economy and Employment
Wallonia	Tourisme Wallonie	None found	No	Tourisme Wallonie
Amsterdam	Number, permit, notification	30 nights, 15 in eight neighbourhoods	Yes	Huisvestingsverordening
Rotterdam	Number, notification	60 nights	Yes	Gemeente Rotterdam
The Hague	Number, permit, notification	30 nights	Yes	Gemeente Den Haag

“None found” means we found no night cap on the official pages we checked, not that no local rule applies.

Questions people ask

Is Airbnb legal in Belgium?

Yes, but each region has its own rules. Flanders requires registration with Toerisme Vlaanderen and nine basic conditions, including a fire safety certificate and insurance.¹ Brussels requires registration with Brussels Economy and Employment for stays of 1 night to 90 consecutive days, and Wallonia requires registration with Tourisme Wallonie before the first guest.⁸¹³ Urban planning rules come on top in all three regions.

Do I need to register my Airbnb with Toerisme Vlaanderen?

Yes. Every tourist accommodation offered for payment in Flanders must be registered, professionally let or not. Letting only to family, friends and acquaintances without promoting it is exempt. Registration gives you the number booking platforms ask for.¹

How many nights can you rent on Airbnb in Amsterdam?

At most 30 nights per calendar year, and at most 15 nights in eight designated neighbourhoods since 1 April 2026: Burgwallen-Nieuwe Zijde, De Weteringschans, Grachtengordel-West, Grachtengordel-Zuid, Haarlemmerbuurt, Jordaan, Nieuwmarkt/Lastage and Oude Pijp.¹⁹²⁰ You also need a permit, a registration number and a notification before every stay, and you must live in the home yourself.

What VAT applies to short-term rentals in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026?

In Belgium, furnished accommodation that is VAT-liable is taxed at 12% since 1 March 2026, up from 6%.²⁷ Whether your letting is VAT-liable depends on the length of stay and on services such as providing bed or bath linen.²⁸ In the Netherlands, accommodation is taxed at 21% since 1 January 2026, with 9% for separate facilities such as breakfast.²⁹ Ask a tax adviser how this applies to your unit.

Who pays tourist tax on Airbnb?

The guest pays it in the end, but the host is usually the one legally responsible for it. Airbnb collects tourist tax automatically for some cities, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.²² In Rotterdam you still have to file a return every three months, and in Brussels and Antwerp the operator registers and declares the overnight stays.²⁴¹¹³

Sources

All sources checked 15 September 2026.

Vlaanderen Vakantieland (Toerisme Vlaanderen), “Het Vlaamse Logiesdecreet”, Last updated 19 August 2026, in Dutch
Stad Antwerpen, “Uitbating toeristische logies”, In Dutch
Stad Antwerpen, “Belasting op overnachtingen in toeristische logies aangeven”, Tax regulation 2026 to 2031, in Dutch
VRT NWS, “Eigenaars 23 illegale Airbnb-appartementen in Antwerpen veroordeeld”, 1 June 2026, in Dutch
VRT NWS, “Woningen huren en via Airbnb onderverhuren: duo huurders met creatief businessmodel is schrik van huiseigenaars in Antwerpen”, 29 July 2026, in Dutch
Stad Gent, “Visienota informeel toeristisch logies”, In Dutch
Stad Gent, “Belasting verstrekken logies”, In Dutch
Brussels Economy and Employment, “Have your tourist accommodation registered”, Checklist and FAQ, 11 August 2025
Brussels Economy and Employment, “Obligations to be met after the registration”
Brussels Economy and Employment, “Conditions and obligations for tourist residences”
Brussels-Capital Region, “Regional tax on tourist accommodation establishments”
La Libre Belgique, “Marathon ministériel à Bruxelles: un premier round de 215 dossiers bouclés”, 10 July 2026, news report, in French
Tourisme Wallonie, “Gérer un hébergement touristique”, In French
Tourisme Wallonie, “Permis d'urbanisme”, In French
Rijksoverheid, “Woning verhuren aan toeristen”, In Dutch
Volkshuisvesting Nederland, “Veelgestelde vragen toeristische verhuur”, Ministry of the Interior, in Dutch
Tweede Kamer, “Wetsvoorstel 36904: uitvoering Verordening (EU) 2024/1028 over kortetermijnverhuur”, In Dutch
Eerste Kamer, “Uitvoering EU-Verordening over verzamelen en delen van gegevens met betrekking tot diensten voor kortetermijnverhuur (36.904)”, Passed 7 July 2026, entry into force by royal decree, in Dutch
Gemeente Amsterdam, “Huisvestingsverordening Amsterdam 2024”, Version in force from 1 January 2026, articles 3.7.2, 3.7.3, 3.9.5 and fine table 4, in Dutch
Gemeente Amsterdam, “Eerste aanwijzingsbesluit 15-nachtencriterium vakantieverhuur Amsterdam (Gemeenteblad 2026, 151001)”, Adopted 24 March 2026, in force 1 April 2026, in Dutch
Gemeente Amsterdam, “Tourist tax (toeristenbelasting)”
Airbnb Help Centre, “Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Netherlands”
Gemeente Rotterdam, “Toeristische verhuur van woningen”, In Dutch
Gemeente Rotterdam, “Aangifte logiesbelasting doen”, In Dutch
Gemeente Den Haag, “Vergunning woningverhuur tijdens vakantie aanvragen”, Last updated 5 June 2026, in Dutch
Gemeente Den Haag, “Toeristenbelasting”, Last updated 5 June 2026, in Dutch
Vlaanderen Vakantieland (Toerisme Vlaanderen), “Info btw hervorming logies”, In Dutch
FOD Financiën, “Verstrekken van gemeubeld logies: belangrijke wijziging vanaf 1 juli 2022”, FAQ version 26 July 2022, in Dutch
Belastingdienst, “Vanaf 1 januari 2026: btw-tarief logies omhoog naar 21%”, 30 October 2025, in Dutch
BIV, “Vastgoedkwesties: concrete situaties, concrete antwoorden”, Question on Airbnb in co-owned buildings, in Dutch
Rijksoverheid, “Consultatie start voor wetsvoorstel passende huurcontracten”, 2 July 2026, in Dutch
Gemeente Amsterdam, “Beleidsregel escalatieladder vakantieverhuur Amsterdam”, In force from 1 January 2026, in Dutch
BIV, “Over de vastgoedmakelaar”, Professional Institute of Real Estate Agents, in Dutch

We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email info@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.

Airbnb rules in Belgium and the Netherlands (2026): registration, night caps and VAT, city by city