Spain accused of getting 'carried away' after 'drastic' ban affecting UK tourists

Barcelona has announced it will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028. The move has been branded as "an unexpectedly drastic move" with Barcelona "seeking to rein in soaring housing costs and make the city livable for residents."

The mayor wants to ban Airbnbs entirely in the next five years as part of his efforts to tackle rent increases, which have been as high as 70 per cent, and public protests against mass tourism. Critics have said that the presence of thousands of short-term rentals, targeted at tourists, has pushed up prices for residents.

As a result, many have had to leave the neighbourhoods that their families have lived in for decades, The Times reported. Jaume Collboni announced that in November 2028 the city council would eliminate the 10,101 tourist flat licences that have been granted.

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The short-term renting of apartments would “cease completely”, he said. “Those 10,000 apartments will be used by the city’s residents or will go on the market for rent or sale,” he explained. “More supply of housing is needed and the measures we’re presenting are to provide more supply so that the working middle class does not have to leave the city because they can’t afford housing,” he added.

“This measure will not change the situation from one day to the next. These problems take time. But with this measure we are marking a turning point.” Isabel Rodriguez, Spain’s Socialist housing minister, said that she supported Barcelona’s decision. “It’s about making all the necessary efforts to guarantee access to affordable housing,” she posted on Twitter/X.

“Collboni is making a mistake that will lead to higher poverty and unemployment,” Barcelona’s tourist apartments association Apartur said, adding that the ban would trigger a rise in illegal tourist apartments.

Enrique Alcantara, its president, accused the municipal government of being carried away by “tourism phobia” and populism. Enrique said: “Tourist flats represent 0.77 per cent of Barcelona’s housing stock. Eliminating them will not solve the problem of access to housing. The only thing the city council is going to achieve is to feed the supply of accommodation outside the law.

“They are destroying a sector that contributes €347 million to the public coffers of Barcelona, a sector made up of small owners that directly employs more than 5,000 people and indirectly many more: how many museums, shops and restaurants will have to close?”