Good news from Berlin for every Airbnb host and Airbnb user. Namely, a strict housing law change was introduced in Berlin last year, but the court has practically challenged this law recently. This law has brought many different limitations to people who wanted to rent their places on Airbnb. As a result of that, many Airbnb hosts in Berlin have decided to pull their offers from the site. Those who have remained there were forced to increase the price and limit the number of days when their flats, houses and other types of accommodation were available.
However, a few weeks ago, the situation was changed when the local court in Berlin has ruled in favor of a Berlin resident who didn’t have a right to rent his own home due to the new law changes. According to the court, he has every right to do this for 182 days a year. This is definitely a change in the right direction because Berlin residents deserve to offer their own homes on Airbnb. Now let’s take a closer look at the Airbnb regulations in Berlin.
Let’s start by saying that Airbnb is legal in Berlin, but the fact is that many politicians and representatives of certain industries dislike Airbnb for different reasons. For instance, the mayor of Mitte, an important central borough in Berlin, Stephan von Dassel is doing his best for years, to stop the use of Airbnb or at least tackle the popularity of this popular platform. He fully supports the law which we have mentioned before known as Zweckentfremdungsverbot. This law is all about preventing misuse of renting apartments. By misuse, they mean renting apartments to tourists or people who are in Berlin for a short period of time.
Generally speaking, the law is not very bad, but the main point is that it is trying to discourage apartment owners from renting their places to tourists. There are many permits and registration procedures required for apartment owners who want to be active on Airbnb. Sometimes these procedures can last for weeks. To put it in simple words, the goal is to let hotels, motels and other businesses to provide accommodation to tourists. If you want to do this as an individual, you have to register your place as a holiday apartment and get permission for short-term sublet.
But, there is a way to rent your place on Airbnb even if it is not registered for this purpose. But, in this case, you can rent just half of your apartment. Once again you will need permission from the local authorities. Those who will ignore this law are facing harsh fines and penalties.
Many Airbnb hosts across Germany and in other countries were concerned about the implications of this law. However, the latest court decision gives them hope that the local authorities will realize how useful this online platform can be. There is no reason why hosts in Berlin or any other place should have such limitations.
More about this topic:
Comments