At the doors of summer, with the influx of international travelers in record levels and housing and Tourist massification converted into almost daily debate issues (yesterday motivated A protest In the Canary Islands), the government wanted to launch a resounding notice to the holiday rental platforms. The Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption has just claimed Airbnb to block Around 66,000 ads “illegal” tourist apartments spread throughout Spain.
The message is clear: the State has the tools to regulate the offer in the holiday rental market. And has decided to use them.
What happened? That the Ministry of Consumer He just remind you to Airbnb that must block almost 66,000 ads of tourist floors offered on its website. To be more prices 65,935 publications that, in the opinion of the technicians of the department of Pablo Bustinduy, can be considered “illegal.”
It is not the first time that the Government is aimed at the rental platform to claim that you eliminate those publications, but now it does so with a draft argument in its favor: a favorable sentence of the Superior Court of Justice.
Why’s that? As Remember from consumptionover the last months its technicians have sent three resolutions to Airbnb in which they order the platform that eliminates 66,000 ads of floors. Those responsible however share the consumption criteria and have resorted to the order before justice.
Now the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid has ruled. And he does so giving him consumption in a resolution that affects a first batch of 5,800 ads of houses distributed by Andalusia, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Basque Country and the Balearic Islands. Enough for the government to have launched a statement emphasizing the need for Airbnb to block all the ads that it considers “illegal”, the 65,935, something that has already demanded from the offices of Ireland.
Why do you want to block them? Because in the opinion of the Government these publications do not respect the rules that holiday accommodations must comply with if they want to announce. “Specifically, the regulations of the different autonomous communities are violated where consumption has detected these ads. In all cases it is complete housing for tourist use, advertisements of individual rooms appear,” specify From the ministry.
To be more precise, consumption considers that they fail three key guidelines. The main one is not to include the license or registration number, an obligation collected in several autonomous regulations and that supposes “the most common infraction” detected by the Ministry. The second is that the ads do not require whether the house is renting a company or particular. Finally, officials have also detected that (at least in some ads) a license is included that does not correspond to that issued by the authorities, the third infraction.
What does Airbnb say? Which is willing to battle. In statements collected by The reasonthe platform says that “it will continue to resort all the decisions that affect this case” and accuses consumption of having used an “indiscriminate methodology”, including both “ads that show licenses” and “others that might not need it, as seasonal leases.” “He has also deliberately ignored resolutions of the supreme that make it clear that not all Airbnb ads require registration number.”
Is it the first touch of attention? No. The Government (as well as other administrations regional) It has been aware of tourist floors, among other reasons for Tensions which generates in the residential market. One of its most ambitious initiatives is A unique registry of holiday rentals that seek to centralize the management, that all the registered floors have a license and that platforms such as Booking or the Airbnb Velan itself because the homes announced comply with the guidelines set by the Law for Rent.
The notice launched by consumption is important for another reason, beyond the possibility of withdrawing almost 66,000 homes from the tourist rental market. It is a new touch of attention that is added to the sanctioning file open to late 2024 to a tourist floors rental platform for breaching advertising or activated regulations Last February.
Why is it important? For the debate generated over last years around tourist rental and its impact on the price of housing and for the legal situation in which there are many apartments that are leaving for travelers.
Just two months ago The country It echoed of a calculation of consumption that reveals that only 7% of the tourist housing ads offered in Madrid have a license. The Executive crossed the advertising of 16,335 tourist apartments in the city with the information of 1,131 permits in force granted by the City Council. Its conclusion: there are 15,204 homes outside the law.
Image | Erwan Hesry (UNSPLASH)
In Xataka | “My savings were there”: Spanish cities are already beginning to regulate their tourist floors
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