Spain has ordered Airbnb to remove thousands of tourist accommodation listings from its platform, after finding they violated local regulations.
Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy said the Government is cracking down on the “illegality of tourist accommodation”.
The move comes a day after thousands of anti-tourism protesters rallied ahead of the peak European summer season.
Context
From 2015 to 2023, house prices across Europe increased by 48%, according to the European Parliament.
The rate was the same across the same time period in Spain, partly driven by tourism. While tourism has benefited Spain’s economy by creating jobs, it’s strained the housing market by increasing the popularity of short-term rentals (e.g. Airbnbs).
In Barcelona, for example, rents increased by 68% over 10 years, leading the council to ban short-term rentals by 2028.
Violations
Last year, an investigation by the Spanish Department of Consumer Affairs into tourist accommodation rental platforms like Airbnb found more than 65,000 illegal listings.
Many of the accommodation listings didn’t have a registration number, a legal requirement, or had a falsified number.
Several ads also did not clarify whether the landlord is an individual or a business, a requirement under Spanish consumer protection laws.
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The department ordered Airbnb to remove a total of 65,935 listings.
Airbnb launched a court appeal, but was unsuccessful.
Following a court decision this week, the company must immediately remove a first tranche of 5,800 listings. Further listings are pending more court decisions.
Airbnb
In a statement, Airbnb said it would continue to appeal all orders and denied any allegations that its users had breached any laws.
On the broader issue of housing in Spain, the company said the “root cause” was “a lack of supply to meet demand”.
“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,” the statement read.
Protests
Over the weekend, thousands of residents gathered in Spain’s Canary Islands for an anti-tourism demonstration.
Protesters called on the government to introduce stricter measures amid concerns that over-tourism is worsening the housing crisis, causing traffic congestion, and threatening the local water supply.
Close to 100 million tourists visited Spain last year, the most since records began.
