Spain’s left-leaning coalition government announced on Monday that it has imposed a penalty of more than 64 million euros on Airbnb, accusing the platform of publishing thousands of adverts for prohibited tourist rentals at a moment when the country is grappling with a worsening housing shortage.
In a statement, the consumer affairs ministry confirmed that the sanction is now definitive and said the US-based short-stay rental platform must ‘correct the violations by deleting illegal content’.
According to the ministry, investigators identified 65,122 Airbnb listings that violated consumer protection regulations, including adverts for homes lacking the required tourist licence or featuring licence numbers that did not match official records. ALSO READ: Airbnb reaches agreement with Spanish government to remove irregular listings.
Officials said the amount of the penalty corresponds to six times the illegal profits Airbnb earned after it was first notified about the problematic listings and before they were ultimately withdrawn. ALSO READ: Spain orders Airbnb to remove over 65,000 ‘illegal’ holiday rental listings.
Although a surge in tourism has helped drive Spain’s strong economic performance, it has also intensified concerns over dwindling affordable housing — an issue the minority coalition government has prioritised.
Spain, the world’s second-most visited destination, welcomed a record 94 million international travellers in 2024 and is expected to exceed that figure this year. Yet residents in major tourism hubs such as Barcelona frequently blame short-term rentals for rising rents and neighbourhood disruption. ALSO READ: Thousands protest against over-tourism in Barcelona & Mallorca, many with water pistols.
This latest move follows a June order from the consumer rights ministry requiring Booking.com to remove more than 4,000 unlawful listings. ALSO READ: Spanish government makes Booking.com remove over 4,000 tourist rental ads.
‘There are thousands of families who are living on the edge due to housing, while a few get rich with business models that expel people from their homes,’ consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy (main image) said in the ministry statement.
‘We’ll prove it as many times as necessary: no company, no matter how big or powerful, is above the law. Even less so when it comes to housing,’ he added on social network Bluesky. ALSO READ: Consumer affairs ministry identifies over 15,000 illegal tourist flats in Madrid.
ALSO READ: Barcelona wants to revoke all city’s 10,101 tourist apartment licences by Nov 2028.
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🔴 Bustinduy, sobre la multa a Airbnb con 64 millones de euros por anunciar viviendas turísticas sin licencia: “Cuando los poderes públicos actúan con determinación, ningún actor económico puede eludir sus obligaciones” https://t.co/Bt6P1jUz1y pic.twitter.com/Ok3JvVz4SA
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