Government asks Airbnb to remove 65,000 listings

The Spanish government has asked Airbnb to remove more than 65,000 tourist accommodation listings from its platform, claiming they violate the law on advertising this type of accommodation, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced Monday. The ministry ordered "the multinational's subsidiary in Ireland to remove a total of 65,935 listings deemed illegal," the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs (DGC) said in a statement.

In recent months, the DGC has sent three notifications to Airbnb, informing it that it must deactivate some 65,000 listings for entire homes in several Spanish regions. According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, these listings are illegal because they do not include the property's license number or specify the legal nature of the landlords (public or private), as required by law.

The company decided to appeal to the courts, but a recent decision by the High Court of Justice of Madrid ruled in favor of the ministry, in turn requiring Airbnb to "immediately remove 5,800 tourist accommodation listings," which is "a first series" of affected properties, according to the ministry.

Following this initial favorable decision, the ministry stepped up pressure to try to "put an end to the chaos and widespread illegality of tourist accommodation, in order to promote access to housing and protect consumer rights," the DGC press release continues.

As it failed to comply with these various compliance requests, the Spanish government opened an administrative procedure against Airbnb in December. Other tourist accommodation rental organizations are also subject to similar procedures.

Criticism of tourist accommodation management organizations has increased in recent months in Spain, the world's second-most popular tourist destination after France. They are accused of fueling rising rental prices in major cities and reducing the amount of housing available to residents.

In an attempt to appease Barcelona residents' anger, the city hall of the northeastern city announced last year its intention to revoke the licenses of nearly 10,000 tourist apartments in the city by the end of 2028. In Malaga, in southern Spain, the municipality has banned new vacation rentals in 43 neighborhoods of the city.