Airbnb removes over 65,000 listings from Spain as country responds to housing protests

Spain has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings on its platform due to violations of local regulations, the Consumer Rights Ministry has announced. This action comes as Spain grapples with a growing housing affordability crisis that has prompted increased government scrutiny and intervention in the short-term rental market. The housing affordability crisis in Spain has also spurred widespread protests in recent months, with tens of thousands of citizens taking to the streets across the country. Many protesters have reportedly cited the increasing burden of rising housing and rental costs as the reason behind these demonstrations, which is a part of the proliferation of short-term holiday rentals on platforms like Airbnb in popular tourist destinations, including Madrid and Barcelona, a report claims.


What Spain’s Consumer Rights Ministry said about Airbnb removing these listings

In a statement to the reporters (reviewed by the news agency AP), Spain’s Consumer Minister Pablo Bustinduy said: “Enough already with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing.”

The ministry stated that a substantial number of the 65,935 Airbnb listings targeted for withdrawal failed to comply with essential rules, primarily by not including their mandatory license number or by not indicating whether the property owner was an individual or a registered company.

Furthermore, authorities discovered that some listings provided license numbers that did not correspond with official records, raising further concerns about regulatory compliance and transparency within the platform's offerings in Spain.

Last year, Barcelona announced that it would phase out its 10,000 licensed short‑term rental apartments by 2028 to protect housing for full‑time residents. The Spanish government, having notified Airbnb of thousands of noncompliant listings months ago, secured a Madrid high court ruling to immediately remove 5,800 listings, with two further rounds of takedowns planned to reach nearly 66,000 across Madrid, Andalusia, and Catalonia. The ruling came after the company appealed to the court before removing these listings.

Airbnb also announced plans to appeal this ruling, with a spokesperson arguing that the ministry lacks the authority to regulate short‑term rentals and relied on “an indiscriminate methodology” that swept in listings exempt from licensing.