Numerous anti-tourism protests have taken place in Spain since 2024, following a growing housing affordability crisis.<\/p>\n
Locals in places including Madrid and Barcelona have shone a spotlight on short-term holiday rentals – typically those in residential areas – claiming that the short-term rental market is pushing up housing prices.<\/p>\n
“No more excuses. Enough with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing in our country,\u201d Spain’s consumer minister Pablo Bustinduy said to journalists following the Spanish court\u2019s decision on delisting short-term rentals.<\/p>\n
What did the recent ruling say?<\/strong><\/p>\n Spain\u2019s Consumer Rights Ministry opened an investigation into Airbnb last year, and Spanish courts have since deemed many listings to be illegal, claiming thousands of them do not openly show a tourism licence or registration number (at least one that is recognised by the authorities), or they do not show the legal status of the landlords.<\/p>\n The High Court of Justice in Madrid has ordered the immediate removal of 5,800 listings,<\/a> and is promising two further phases totalling up to 66,000 listings.<\/p>\n The listings include whole properties only \u2013 individual room listings do not feature in the ban.<\/p>\n Airbnb claims that even this initial figure has been lowered to 4,984, after they flagged a number of instances where listings were in compliance with the applicable regulations.<\/p>\n Will my Airbnb holiday be affected this summer?<\/strong><\/p>\n There will be no impact whatsoever on reservations for the summer in Spain, at least from Airbnb\u2019s side. Meaning no cancelled plans and no compensation needed as a result of the recent ruling.<\/p>\n The online platform confirmed to Yahoo News that it would be appealing the decision and that it has no plans to take any listings down immediately.<\/p>\n “No evidence of rule-breaking by hosts has been put forward,\u201d it said in a statement. \u201cThe decision goes against EU and Spanish law and a previous ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n Airbnb policies have become more strict in certain places, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Edinburgh and New York. (Getty)<\/p>\n Airbnb could also argue that it is a platform subject to the Digital Services Act, with no monitoring obligations.<\/a> However, if it is asked to remove content by the Spanish Supreme Court, it would be required to do so.<\/p>\n It will likely argue that it\u2019s not classified as a real estate provider, so displaying a registration number will lie with the final tourism service provider.<\/a><\/p>\n Will other booking sites be affected?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) counted more than 350,000 short-term rentals in Spain in 2024, which includes listings on sites Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Only Airbnb has been targeted in the recent ruling.<\/p>\n Airbnb doesn\u2019t only offer short-term rentals but also hotels, hostels, rural houses, bed and breakfasts and tourist apartments.<\/p>\n Will reducing short-term lets help the housing crisis?<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a growing resentment towards short-term lets worldwide, with many claiming that short-term rentals are affecting house prices.<\/p>\n Airbnb policies have become more strict in certain places, including Amsterdam, Barcelona<\/a>, Edinburgh <\/a>and New York, but Airbnb claims that since the new anti short-term rental regulations in these cities have been in effect there have been no major changes to accommodation availability.<\/p>\n \u201cThe solution is to build more homes \u2013 anything else is a distraction,\u201d Airbnb said in a statement to Yahoo News. \u201cGovernments across the world are seeing that regulating Airbnb does not alleviate housing concerns or return homes to the market \u2013 it only hurts local families who rely on hosting to afford their homes and rising costs.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Novi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/4213d6a0-0196-11ea-b6df-b316eb142790.jpeg\"\/)
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