Amsterdam plan to ban landlords

Amsterdam is pushing back against buy-to-let landlords with a ruling that anyone who buys a property must live in it for at least four years. The rule will apply to all homes under €512,000 (£439,000), after council figures showed that 30% of all residential properties in Amsterdam are owned by investors rather than the people who live in them. The city is the first to implement a nationwide law introduced by the Dutch government last month. The law, which will come into effect in February, will affect only new purchases, not apartments which are already being rented out. Rental prices in Amsterdam rose by 18% during the pandemic. The Times (£)