On Monday, the Spanish government ordered Airbnb to withdraw almost 66 thousand ads from its platform, which extends hard hand measures against tourist rentals in its attempt to relieve a housing crisis that has become one of the worst in Europe.
The government said the ads violated the rules because they lacked licenses, had false license numbers or did not reveal whether the property was managed by a company or by an individual.
Airbnb said in a statement that it would continue to appeal all decisions related to the case. A spokesman said the company would keep the ads until the appeal proceed in court.
The affordability of housing has become a critical social and political issue in Spain, where mass demonstrations have been carried out throughout the country by people who claim that the proliferation of real estate investors and the conversion of homes into tourist accommodations have expelled families from their homes. The shortage has contributed to prices rise much faster than wages, putting affordable housing out of the reach of many.
Pablo Bustinduy, the Spanish consumption minister, said that the measure was part of a broader impulse of national, regional and local authorities to ensure that “no economic interest in the right to housing.”
His agency had already investigated Airbnb and notified to the company several months ago that 65,935 ads did not meet the legal requirements and had to be withdrawn, but the company presented an appeal before the courts. On Monday, the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid supported the order. The Government will require Airbnb to withdraw a first lot of 5800 site ads, and additional orders will be issued until all illegal ads are withdrawn, Bustinduy said.
The company said that the fundamental cause of the affordable housing crisis in Spain was the lack of housing supply and that the strictest restrictions imposed in cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Edinburgh and New York “have not managed to relieve local housing problems, while harming local families that depend on the host and make the price of accommodation for travelers.”
“The solution is to build more homes; anything else is a distraction,” said the company in the statement.
Airbnb accommodations in Madrid and Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, are among those affected by Monday’s judgment.
Barcelona had announced that it would become the first European city to end the licenses for holiday rentals, forcing owners to offer them as long -term accommodations with limited rentals for 2028 or put them on sale. Mayor Jaume Collboni recently declared The New York Times that the main priority was to deal with the growing inequality derived from the lack of affordable homes.
The problems of Spain mimic the pain that plagues other European cities: investors have become more and more residential real estate into financial assets. The increase in world tourism and workers who cross the borders have led the owners to favor short -term rentals in front of long -term protected tenants. Cities need more homes, but high costs and complex regulations have suffocated construction. The inventory of social housing throughout Europe to shelter families in trouble, at another time so praised, has been reduced after governments sold units to raise money.
In Spain, the Government has tried to reverse the problem with an ambitious program to build more affordable accommodations and social housing. The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has tried to stop foreign buyers, even proposing a 100 percent tax aimed at foreign real estate investors.
And in December, the Supreme Court of Spain ruled that the communities of owners could prohibit tourist rent in their buildings if they obtained the agreement of a majority of three fifths.