The Spanish government has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings that it claims are breaking the rules.
Many of the listings did not include a licence number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company, Spain’s consumer rights ministry said, while others didn’t match official records.
It comes amid growing anti-tourism sentiment in the country which has led to widespread protests across Spain and the Canary Islands in recent days, disrupting holidays for visitors.
Holiday homes in Malaga have seen a decline in bookings since demonstrations began last year, with a new three-year law in place which prevents new holiday rentals being registered.
They blame holiday rentals on platforms like Airbnb for rising housing and rental costs, especially in major cities like Madrid and Barcelona.
But Airbnb says it is appealing against all decisions linked to this case.
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A spokesperson said: ‘No evidence of rule-breaking by hosts has been put forward and the decision goes against EU and Spanish law, and a previous ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court.
‘The root cause of the affordable housing crisis in Spain is a lack of supply to meet demand.
‘The solution is to build more homes – anything else is a distraction.
‘Governments across the world are seeing that regulating Airbnb does not alleviate housing concerns or return homes to the market – it only hurts local families who rely on hosting to afford their homes and rising costs.’
Last year, Barcelona said it would close down all 10,000 short term rentals licensed in the city by 2028, in a bid to safeguard the housing supply for full time residents.
Residents complain of overcrowding, a lack of affordable housing for locals, and town centres no longer catering for them – and the situation has ramped up as the busy summer season approaches.
Locals on the Spanish island of Mallorca even ‘occupied’ a beach to try and safeguard it from ‘bad tourists’.
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