Spain: Housing Crisis Prompts Barcelona to Ban Airbnbs

Barcelona, Spain.

An intensifying housing problem in Barcelona has prompted authorities to announce a ban on Airbnb-style rentals effective 2029.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said last week that the city would no longer issue or renew licenses for short-term rentals with the goal to eliminate all short-stays by 2029.

According to data, there are currently some 10,000 homes listed for short-term rental in the Spanish city.

“The measures we’re introducing today are designed to increase the supply of housing so the working middle class does not have to leave the city due to unaffordable housing,” said Collboni.

He went on to add that it will take time for the measure to produce results. “These issues take time to resolve. However, this marks a significant turning point,” he said.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni.

Barcelona welcomed 16 million travelers in 2023. At the same time, rents per square meter in the city have so far in 2024 increased by 14%.

All the more cities worldwide are taking action to address the phenomenon. In New York, Tokyo, and Vancouver hosts are required to reside in the apartments they lease out; in San Francisco and Seattle, there is a restriction on the number of properties a single host can list. Dallas has banned short-term rentals in certain neighborhoods. London, Amsterdam, and Paris have set limits on the number of nights a property can be leased as a short-stay annually.

In Greece, hoteliers have repeatedly called on the government to regulate the ballooning short-term rental market.

Meanwhile, Athens, like Barcelona, is also facing a rising housing problem exacerbated by the Airbnb phenomenon. Indicatively, in 2022, the number of properties available online for short-term tourist rental increased to 144,857 from 136,658 in pre-pandemic 2019.