As of this month, Berliners renting out their full apartments on Airbnb can face a fine of up to €100,000 ($115,000), under a new law aimed at curbing a rise in housing prices. The law, called Zweckentfremdungsverbot ("prohibition of improper use"), was passed in 2014 and went into effect on May 1st, the AFP news agency reports. Homeowners can still rent out individual rooms on Airbnb and similar property-listing sites, but renting out entire homes or apartments is now forbidden across the German capital.
Andreas Geisel, Berlin's head of urban development, has said that the law is "a necessary and sensible instrument" to keep housing affordable. Rents in Berlin are still low relative to other European cities, though they increased by 56 percent between 2009 and 2014. Officials say Airbnb Clone and similar sites have helped fuel that rise as more Berliners use their apartments exclusively for short-term rentals, thereby exacerbating the city's housing shortage.
Read more @ http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/2/11564370/airbnb-berlin-illegal-apartment-housing-price
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