The Spanish government has launched a direct offensive against irregular tourist rentals, focusing its action on platforms such as Airbnb. The Ministry of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs ordered the blocking of 65,935 ads for regulatory breaches, such as lack of registration number, use of false licenses or ambiguity as to whether the lessor is acting as a private or professional. This measure was backed by a resolution of the High Court of Justice of Madrid, which authorized the immediate withdrawal of 5,800 publications in a first stage, as reported by the ministry itself in a press release.

The action is part of the entry into force of the single registry of tourist and seasonal rentals, operational since January and with full implementation scheduled for July 2025. This registry requires each property to have a valid identifier and obliges platforms such as Airbnb or Booking to verify this information before allowing an ad to be published.

The company's reaction was immediate. In an official statement, Airbnb pointed out that the new requirements may generate uncertainty and affect those who use the platform to obtain additional income, especially in rural areas or areas with lower demand. The company also requested that the Spanish regulation be aligned with the European legal framework to ensure legal certainty and ease of compliance for hosts.

It is gentrification

These measures are not explained solely from a legal perspective. The backdrop is a broader process of urban transformation accelerated by the short-term rental boom. Cities such as Barcelona and Madrid have experienced increasing pressure on their housing markets, where tourist apartments have displaced regular residents, made rents more expensive and changed the commercial landscape of neighborhoods.

In Barcelona, the city council has documented a steady growth in tourist housing since the middle of the last decade, especially in the central districts. The Observatori de l'Habitatge has pointed out that this phenomenon is linked to a sharp increase in rental prices and a process of substitution of residential use by high turnover and higher profitability uses.

In Madrid, a report in El País revealed that in 2024 approximately one out of every three tourist apartments in the city center did not have the required license. In neighborhoods such as Lavapiés and Malasaña, residents have taken to the streets on several occasions to demand measures to prevent what they perceive as a progressive expulsion of traditional inhabitants.

Taxes, competences and political tensions

In addition to administrative control, the Government has proposed a tax reform so that tourist housing will be taxed at 21% VAT, the same as other economic activities. This measure is part of a proposed law presented by the PSOE on May 22, 2025, aimed at discouraging the speculative use of housing and increasing the supply of traditional residential rentals.

The initiative also includes greater control over non-resident owners, the penalization of real estate investment trusts (SOCIMI) that concentrate housing without renting it out, and limits on the proliferation of tourist apartments in stressed areas.

However, not all administrations are in agreement. The Junta de Andalucía has filed a contentious-administrative appeal against the decree regulating the single registry, claiming that it violates the exclusive powers of the autonomous communities in matters of tourism and housing.

The right to the city

At the heart of the debate is the type of city to be built. The protests against mass tourism seen in Palma, Malaga, Valencia and San Sebastian are not isolated episodes. They are part of a social unrest that is expressed in posters, marches and citizen platforms.

While the government argues that these measures are necessary to guarantee access to housing, the platforms argue that the collaborative economy model must be preserved. The result, for now, is an open clash between the public interest in regulating the use of housing and the economic interests linked to short-term tourism.