Flanders Cracks Down on Illegal and Criminal Airbnb Rentals
The Flemish government has approved a sweeping package of measures to crack down on illegal and criminal short-term rentals, requiring platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com to proactively verify that every property listed in the region holds a valid registration number from Toerisme Vlaanderen (Tourism Flanders).
The new rules, approved on July 17 during the last ministerial council before the summer recess, represent the most significant regulatory tightening of the short-term rental market in Flanders to date. They still require approval from the Flemish Parliament, expected in autumn 2026.
Context: A Growing Problem
The short-term rental market in Flanders has exploded over the past decade, transforming from a peer-to-peer home-sharing concept into a market increasingly dominated by professional investors. According to VRT NWS, annual inspections by Toerisme Vlaanderen found that only 6 out of 10 inspected properties comply with the hospitality decree — meaning 40% are not in order.
The impact on housing affordability has been severe. In Brussels alone, an estimated 5,000 homes — roughly 1% of the city’s housing stock — have been removed from the regular market for short-term rentals, according to research by Professor Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). In Antwerp and Ghent, approximately 2,870 and 1,311 properties respectively are listed on Airbnb.
“Yes, that nice Airbnb contributes to the housing crisis in Flanders,” Verhaeghe told Knack in a 2024 interview, warning that without intervention, Flanders risked following the path of cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Lisbon where mass tourism has severely strained local housing markets.
What the New Measures Change
The package introduces four key changes to how short-term rentals will be regulated in Flanders.
Platform responsibility: Online rental platforms will be required to actively verify that each property listed in Flanders has a valid registration number from Toerisme Vlaanderen. Properties without registration may not be offered. This shifts a significant portion of enforcement burden from government to the platforms themselves.
Streamlined enforcement: Currently, closing a non-compliant property requires a lengthy enforcement procedure that can take years. Under the new rules, a municipal police report will be sufficient for Toerisme Vlaanderen to revoke recognition and close the property, enabling much faster action against planning violations, nuisance, or criminal activities.
Contact person requirement: Hosts must provide a real, verifiable contact person. This directly addresses the absurd case that has become emblematic of the enforcement gap: authorities once discovered a landlord who had listed “Kermit de Kikker” (Kermit the Frog) as their contact person, making it impossible to identify or reach the actual responsible party.
Data sharing: Platforms must share data about their listings and activities with Toerisme Vlaanderen, enabling better monitoring and detection of illegal operations.
Political Response
Flemish Minister of Tourism and Housing Melissa Depraetere (Vooruit) has been the driving force behind the crackdown. Speaking to HLN, she emphasized that the measures are not a ban on platforms like Airbnb.
“We are certainly not banning online platforms like Airbnb. But what is offered on those platforms in Flanders must be much more transparent,” Depraetere said. “That’s why anyone who still wants to rent via Airbnb will in the future have to provide a real, existing contact person. So done with landlords who list ‘Kermit the Frog’ as their contact person, as was once even observed.”
In a party statement from December 2025, Depraetere was equally blunt about criminal misuse: “Anyone who misuses a holiday rental for criminal activity immediately loses their recognition. It’s that simple.”
Analysis and Implications
The measures align Flanders with a broader European trend. Cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Lisbon have imposed strict regulations on short-term rentals, and the Brussels-Capital Region has already implemented similar controls, successfully recovering approximately 500 homes back to the regular housing market through inspections.
However, experts note that regulation alone may not solve the housing crisis. Professor Verhaeghe has advocated for a “One Host, One Home” rule — limiting each host to a single property on short-term rental platforms — which the current package does not include. The new rules also do not ban Airbnb or similar platforms outright, and they still require parliamentary approval.
Questions remain about enforcement capacity. Will Toerisme Vlaanderen have sufficient resources to monitor compliance? How will platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com respond to data-sharing obligations? Legal challenges from platforms are a distinct possibility.
What’s Next
The Flemish Parliament is expected to vote on the new rules in autumn 2026. If approved, the measures could serve as a model for other regions grappling with the tension between tourism revenue and housing affordability. In the short term, some illegal listings will likely be removed from platforms, and compliance costs for hosts will increase. In the medium term, the measures could free up housing for the long-term rental market — but as experts caution, broader housing policy will also be needed to address the affordability crisis comprehensively.
“With these measures, we ensure that homes become available and affordable again for those who truly want to live in them,” Depraetere said.