The taxman is coming for nearly 2,000 Airbnb hosts in Brussels, Belgium, where hundreds of private homeowners who rent out short-term accommodation via online platforms risk receiving nasty surprises in the post as they are now targeted for fines and backdated tourist tax bills, according to Airbnb figures reported on 6 August by local press L’Echo and Le Soir.
Approved by the European Union’s Court of Justice back in 2016 and disputed by Airbnb and large groups of rental accommodation providers for years, new rules and limits were eventually imposed as part of a crackdown by Brussels Capital Region officials and the European Commission, and have begun applying to the city’s short-term rental market.
Part of the aim stated at the time by Anaïs Maes (Vooruit), Brussels Councillor for Urban Planning, was to prevent the centre of Brussels becoming “a sterile environment” and avoid the hollowing out of residential areas and soaring housing costs that have been seen in other European destinations such as Amsterdam, and cities in Italy and Spain, which have also been on a collision course with the online accommodation platform.
In addition to requirements for fire safety certificates, criminal record checks on hosts, and compliance with urban planning stipulations, Airbnb was obliged to begin sharing fiscal data on its host members, as well as telling the city how many rentals they were proposing, and providing the room occupancy information.
Hosts who are found to have failed to register their property are liable for fines of €1,000 per unit and will also need to settle up back payments owed on the “city tax” of three euros per night’s rental. The total amount clawed back amounts to between €1.5 and 2 million – and that’s only for the 2022 tax year.
One Brussels Airbnb hostess has complained to reporters that she feels misled and conned due to a lack of information and now finds herself owing nearly as much as she earned through rentals to the tax authorities. Airbnb has responded, insisting it “continues to keep Brussels hosts informed of the need to respect the applicable laws” and says it makes help and resources available via its Help Centre and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Grégory Huon, the president of Short-Term Rental Belgium (STR), a group representing rental owners and stakeholders, acknowledges that no one is above the law. Nonetheless, he argues that fines for non-registration reaching up to €2,000 are excessive and “completely disproportionate”. He has called for any penalties to be fair.
