MADRID (AP) \u2014 A Spanish court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Airbnb and left in place an order to block almost 66,000 rental listings that the government said violated local rules.<\/p>\n
The government has said the platform\u2019s short-term rentals in city centers and tourism hot spots are contributing to Spain\u2019s housing crunch while the country welcomes record numbers of visitors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last month, Spain\u2019s government ordered<\/a> Airbnb to block 65,935 listings in the country after the Consumer Rights Ministry flagged them for violations. It said Airbnb had to immediately take down 5,800 of them.<\/p>\n The ministry has said the listings it flagged did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. It said others listed numbers that didn\u2019t match what authorities had.<\/p>\n In a statement, Airbnb said the ministry\u2019s actions went against Spanish regulations that hold owners of short-term rentals, not the platform, as responsible for listing such information. It also said the Madrid court\u2019s decision was not made on the merits of the ministry\u2019s order, adding that will take longer to decide.<\/p>\n The company asserted that Spain\u2019s housing crisis comes down to \u201ca lack of supply to meet demand,\u201d and said anything else \u201cis a distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press<\/a> that the tourism sector could not \u201cjeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,\u201d including their right to housing and well-being.<\/p>\n