Airbnb relents, will limit how long people can rent out properties in two major cities

Faced with pressure from cities around the world, Airbnb is cracking down on hosts who don't seem to live in the properties they rent.

The company will limit the number of nights a host in London or Amsterdam can rent a property through its short-term rental site. To rent a home for more than 90 days in London or 60 days in Amsterdam, hosts will need to apply for a license.

The automatic cap applies to listings for entire homes, not to rooms in an otherwise in-use house or apartment. The number of nights a year a home is rented and the number of entire home listings in a city are two of the numbers that most concern affordable housing advocates opposed to Airbnb.

"The new measures are an example to the world and demonstrate the positive results that can be achieved when policymakers and Airbnb work together on our shared goals of making cities better places to live, work and visit," Airbnb General Manager for Northern Europe James McClure said in a statement.

Airbnb will introduce a "day counter" for hosts to keep track of how many more nights they can rent a property without a license. The regulations follow protracted negotiations and research involving both cities.

Airbnb is facing increased pressure around the world as the company uses more housing stock and cities follow each other in pursuing regulation. In New York, many of the listings that would now require a license in London or Amsterdam are already technically illegal.