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Following intense public pressure to regulate the short-term rental market, the Spanish government says it will remove over 65,000 holiday rental listings from Airbnb for breaching regulations.
The Spanish government is cracking down on short-term property renting and says it will remove 65,000 holiday listings from Airbnb.
It comes amidst growing public pressure to provide more regulation and rules over holiday renting. The consumer rights ministry said missing licence numbers, unclear ownership records and discrepancies between listed and official records as main motivators for the move.
As the Independent reports, there is a worsening housing affordability crisis currently underway in Spain as tourists and holiday homes erode available options for local people.
Frequent public protests and hostile behaviour toward tourists has made clear that many feel rising rent and mortgage costs are creating an unsustainable market.
Madrid and Barcelona have been particularly hard hit by the tourism boom. The latter said it plans to phase out all 10,000 licensed short-term rental apartments by 2028, with a far greater focus on permanent residents.
Construction of new homes has not kept up with demand for over fifteen years, causing spiralling costs and ultra-competitive listings.
In a statement, Consumer Minister Pablo Bustinduy said that the government intended to end the ‘lack of control’ and ‘illegality’ that plagues the holiday rental business in Spain.
‘No more excuses,’ he said. ‘Enough with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing in this country.’
Airbnb has fought back against some of the backlash over the past year. In December, the platform claimed it asked hosts to provide evidence of any permission to rent their homes and abide by local rules. This would theoretically absolve the company of responsibility for those who were operating illegally.
