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Spain has launched a major clampdown on Airbnb properties, ordering the removal of over 65,000 holiday rental listings across the country that fail to comply with regulations.
The Spanish Consumer Rights Ministry cited several violations, including missing licence numbers, not specifying whether the owner was an individual or a corporation, and discrepancies between listed information and official records.
The crackdown comes against the backdrop of Spain’s growing housing affordability crisis, which has sparked widespread protests over rising rents and home prices.
Many Spaniards blame short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb for worsening housing shortages, particularly in popular tourist destinations like Madrid and Barcelona.
‘No more excuses’
On Monday, Spain’s Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy said the move aimed to address the general “lack of control” and “illegality” in the holiday rental business.
“No more excuses. Enough with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing in our country,” he told reporters.
The nationwide enforcement primarily targets listings in Madrid, Andalusia, and Catalonia, where tourism is most heavily concentrated.
The ministry said it had notified Airbnb about the noncompliant listings months ago, but that the company had appealed the move in court.
Spain’s government said Madrid’s high court had backed the order sent to Airbnb.
Bustinduy said it involved the immediate removal of 5,800 rental listings from the site. Two subsequent orders would be issued until the total of 65,935 removals is reached, he said.
Airbnb intends to appeal new ruling
Official data shows Spain had approximately 321,000 licensed holiday rentals as of November last year- a 15 per cent increase since 2020 – with many more operating without proper licenses.
The Consumer Rights Ministry opened an investigation into Airbnb in December last year.
Airbnb told Euronews Travel it will continue to appeal against all decisions linked to this case.
“No evidence of rule-breaking by hosts has been put forward, and the decision goes against EU and Spanish law, and a previous ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court,” a spokesperson said.
“The root cause of the affordable housing crisis in Spain is a lack of supply to meet demand. The solution is to build more homes – anything else is a distraction.”
The spokesperson added that governments across the world are seeing that regulating Airbnb does not alleviate housing concerns or return homes to the market: “It only hurts local families who rely on hosting to afford their homes and rising costs.”
Barcelona bans short-term rentals
Last year, the Spanish government launched a general crackdown on holiday rentals amid growing frustration among residents who say mass tourism is aggravating a housing crisis.
Locals say they are being priced out of their cities due to gentrification and landlords favouring more lucrative short-term tourist lets.
Barcelona has already taken aggressive measures to address the problem, announcing plans to eliminate all 10,000 licensed short-term rental apartments by 2028 to prioritise housing for permanent residents.
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