MADRID - Airbnb has been forced to remove more than 65,000 holiday accommodation listings in Spain after the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Rights revealed that the listings did not meet legal requirements.
According to information released by El País, offers without a mandatory licence number, incomplete information about the accommodation provider and in some cases completely fictitious data. In addition, the Spanish Government has identified approximately 55 000 other advertisements which also do not comply with the new regulations and are currently under investigation.
As reported by the agency Reuters, the ministry, led by Pablo Bustinduy, called on Airbnb to make an immediate correction. The platform, he said, is "systematically violating regulations" that protect consumers and regulate short-term tourist accommodation, which is contributing significantly to rising rental prices in urban areas.
The courts have given the government the benefit of the doubt
The legitimacy of the government's intervention has been upheld by the Madrid Supreme Court (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid), which in its decision ordered the removal of at least 5 800 specific listings from the Airbnb platform. The move is intended to ElDiario.es crucial for the future of digital platforms, as it clearly shows that even global players must comply with local legislation.
Among the areas affected are the autonomous regions of Catalonia, Andalusia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Madrid. In these regions, mass tourism and housing speculation have made rents unaffordable for local residents for a long time.
Airbnb fights back, but pressure mounts
In response, Airbnb said the government's decision was too broad and called it "unduly punitive". As he wrote server El Debate, the platform claims that some of the adverts were removed illegally because they were offers that do not require a licence under local regulations.
The company representatives also added that "the responsibility for the inclusion of the license number lies with the hosts themselves" and that the company only brokers the advertisement.
Despite these objections, the Spanish government continues to tighten the rules. As pointed out by El País, from July 2025 every advertised property must include the licence number directly in the description of the offer. Failure to do so will result in its removal without refund.
What's next?
The ministry announced that it will continue to monitor the market and request monthly data from digital platforms on rental properties, their location and the legal status of the providers. It also plans to introduce a public register of legal accommodation to increase transparency and allow easy verification of authorisations.
As she reported Reuters, Spain is not alone in trying to limit the negative impacts of short-term rentals. Similar steps are being taken in Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal, where quotas for the number of holiday homes are already in place.
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