Barcelona hits back at Airbnb for failure to remove ‘illegal’ listings

Spain: Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor is preparing measures to hit back at the wave of “illegal” tourist listings in the city.

The move comes as the city prepares to hit back at online accommodation platform Airbnb after 800 reportedly illegal listings failed to be removed from the site this year. 

Barcelona’s deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, emphasised how illegal tourist apartments impact the right to access housing and is looking at ways to resolve the issue. 

Bonet claimed that the site is not responding to requests to delete illegal listings, accusing it of being an accomplice to illegal housing conduct in the city. The council has also made the decision to hold out renewing any licences for legal tourist apartments at the end of 2028, which is set to be confirmed by Barcelona’s Mayor Juame Collboni soon. 

Collboni is set to meet with Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, in the near future to discuss how Airbnb can better regulate the addition of listings in the city that do not hold a valid tourist license. 

The news in Barcelona mirrors similar activity seen across the country over the past few months. On April 5th, protesters took to the streets in response to the growth of short-term rentals in the city amid a growing housing crisis. 

The Spanish government recently planned to impose a 21 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on short-term rentals to address the impact of mass tourism and rising housing shortage. They have also mandated the removal of almost 66,000 Airbnb listings that have violated tourist accommodation regulations. 

Highlights:

• Barcelona prepares to hit back at Airbnb.
• Airbnb fails to take down 800 illegal tourist apartments.
• Cities across Spain are working to increase restrictions on short-term rentals.