A COURT IN Madrid has upheld a decision by the Spanish government to block almost 66,000 Airbnb rental listings that it said violated local rules.

Airbnb had appealed the decision by the country’s government, which is taking action against short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis. 

Spain’s consumer rights ministry had “urged” the US company’s Irish-based subsidiary to remove 65,935 adverts which it said breached the advertising rules for this type of tourist accommodation.

The breaches included failing to list licence numbers, listing the wrong licence number or not specifying who the apartment’s owner was.

In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for Airbnb said the decision by a Superior Court of Madrid “is a procedural ruling and not a decision on the merits” of the ministry’s order, adding that it will take “longer to decide”.

“Airbnb is confident that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ actions go against Spanish applicable regulations,” the spokesperson said.

They cited a Spanish Supreme Court decision in 2022, which found that the host of a property is responsible for listing information, not the company, and said they always inform hosts that they must comply with all regulations when listing on their platform. 

The spokesperson said Airbnb has advocated for an EU-wide approach to short-term rental regulations, which will help make rules more consistent across the bloc. 

They also said that Spain has nearly 4 million vacant homes that make up over 14% of the country’s total housing stock, “almost 30 times more than accommodations exclusively dedicated to tourism”. 

“The root cause of the affordable housing crisis in Spain is a lack of supply to meet demand. The solution is to build more homes – anything else is a distraction. 

Spain has seen several large protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people to demand more government action on housing. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Spain, the world’s second most-visited country, hosted a record 94 million tourists in 2024, making the lucrative sector a driver of its buoyant economy.

But a housing affordability problem in Spain that is particularly acute in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona has led to growing antagonism against short-term holiday rentals, of which Airbnb is perhaps the best-known and most visible actor.

The Spanish government says the two are related: the rise of Airbnb and other short-term rental companies, and rising rents and housing costs.

Regional governments in Spain are also tackling the issue. Last year, Barcelona announced a plan to close down all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028 to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents.

According to the latest figures published by the National Statistics Institute, 368,295 properties were dedicated to tourist accommodation in November 2024.

Spain has seen several large protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people to demand more government action on housing.

It was one of a number of European countries that saw demonstrations calling for a curb on mass tourism last weekend.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Spain, Italy and Portugal, with some carrying placards and others spraying tourists and hotels with water pistols.

With reporting from Press Association