Airbnb scraps 65,000 listings as Spain flags 55,000 more

Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced this week that the tourist rental platform Airbnb has taken down 65,000 listings at the centre of a dispute with the government over new requirements.

The department headed by Minister Pablo Bustinduy had even opened a disciplinary proceeding against the company, which is still ongoing and for which the government has received legal backing from the courts.

This comes after the short-term rental platform kept its word and reached an agreement last week with Spain's Housing Ministry to comply with new regulations, which now require tourist accommodation or temporary rentals to have a registration number in order to advertise.

READ ALSO: Airbnb to cancel listings for lets not registered with Spain's government

The move forms part of a broader drive by the Spanish government to crack down on illegal tourist accommodation and offset the impact of Airbnb and other platforms on rental costs, which have spiralled in Spain in recent years.

As of July 1st 2025, all landlords who want to let out their properties out as tourist or seasonal rentals in Spain must have registered on the Single Rental Registry or if not remove their listings from platforms such as Airbnb, Idealista or Booking.com.

However, the system has been fraught with technical issues. On the last day landlords had to register their properties on the new platform, 215,438 applications had been received out of a total 368,295 homes that Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) identifies as short-term or temporary lets.

In particular, many foreign property owners struggled to get the correct paperwork completed in time for the deadline.

READ ALSO: Foreigners struggle to register their Spanish holiday lets by July deadline

However, while the take down clearly presents progress and a concession from Airbnb, the government's Consumer Analysis Unit has detected a further 54,728 Airbnb listings still online without the mandatory registration number after the July 1st deadline.

"The Ministry will forward the information gathered in accordance with the provisions of current legislation, so that the adverts can be removed or corrected from the platform," the unit said in a statement.

"The Consumer Analysis Unit will continue working to identify and report potential illegal advertisements on the various digital platforms specialising in tourist accommodation rentals."

The crackdown, Ministry sources say, is to "guarantee the constitutional right to housing over the profits of large multinationals."

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The Consumer Affairs Ministry is also conducting another investigation into large tourist flat managers for possible fraudulent practices such as posing as private owners, falsifying reviews or offering rights granted by law as extra services or included in the price.

In addition, it is also investigating several real estate agencies for charging illegal commissions and has opened disciplinary proceedings against the company Alquiler Seguro.

The government's campaign against short-term tourist rentals like Airbnb already has the backing of the Spanish courts.

After legally requesting the removal of the 65,000 listings, the Madrid High Court of Justice had twice previously ruled that Airbnb must immediately withdraw a further 5,800 listings for breaking rules.

Starting in August 2025, Airbnb has agreed to send the information required by the Housing Department on a monthly basis, including the corresponding regional registration numbers.

READ ALSO: How tourist lets in Spain are pushing locals out of city outskirts