Spain has imposed a 64 million euro fine on Airbnb for advertising thousands of unlicensed tourist rentals, marking one of the toughest actions yet in Europe against short-term rental platforms and highlighting how fiercely the country is now moving to reclaim housing from the holiday market.

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Record fine caps a year of escalating clashes

The penalty, announced on December 15 by Spain’s consumer rights ministry, targets Airbnb’s promotion of properties that lacked mandatory registration numbers or listed misleading or incomplete information about their legal status. Officials say the listings breached national rules designed to bring order to the booming but often opaque market for tourist flats.

According to the ministry, the 64 million euro sanction is calculated at roughly six times the profits Airbnb is estimated to have earned from the disputed listings. It is the second largest consumer protection fine ever issued by Spain’s central government and comes after repeated warnings and formal orders in 2024 and 2025 for the company to cleanse its platform of non-compliant ads.

Earlier this year, authorities ordered Airbnb to remove more than 65,000 listings considered illegal because they either lacked a licence number, used fake or mismatched registration details, or failed to clarify whether the host was a private owner or a professional operator. Spanish courts backed the government’s stance in mid-2025, rejecting an appeal from the company and reinforcing Madrid’s power to demand sweeping delistings.

Airbnb has said it will appeal the latest fine, arguing that it is working with Spanish authorities, that tens of thousands of hosts have now registered, and that the enforcement approach risks penalising ordinary families who depend on rental income. But the decision underscores how Spain’s left-leaning coalition is using consumer and housing policy to tackle what it sees as a structural threat to residents’ access to affordable homes.

Housing crisis and overtourism shape political mood

Spain welcomed a record 94 million foreign visitors in 2024, confirming its status as one of the world’s most visited countries and making tourism a central pillar of economic growth. Yet that success has deepened tensions in major cities and coastal hotspots, where locals increasingly blame tourist rentals for soaring housing costs, noise and the hollowing out of neighbourhood life.

In districts of Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville and popular island destinations, entire stairwells or buildings have been converted to short-stay flats. Residents report constant luggage traffic, late-night party noise and a churn of visitors with little stake in local communities, while long-term tenants face eviction or steep rent hikes as landlords chase higher yields from tourists.

The Spanish government has framed the Airbnb fine squarely in this context. Consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy has repeatedly linked unregulated tourist apartments to “housing insecurity” for thousands of families, arguing that speculative use of housing stock for short-term stays reduces availability for permanent residents and pushes prices beyond the reach of young people and lower-income households.

Over the past two years, this message has resonated with voters amid threats of mass tenants’ strikes and visible street protests against overtourism. Graffiti calling for “tourists go home” and marches against “touristification” have become familiar scenes in cities like Barcelona and Palma, giving political cover for tougher regulations that were once seen as too risky for Spain’s tourism-dependent economy.

How Spain’s new rental rules work

The fine against Airbnb sits atop a much broader regulatory architecture that Spain has rolled out to rein in short-term lets. A new national framework requires every property marketed as a tourist or seasonal rental to obtain a unique registration number, which must then be clearly displayed in any advertisement on platforms including Airbnb and Booking.com.

The national registry, which became fully mandatory on July 1 this year, aims to give authorities a complete map of the country’s tourist accommodation stock and to make it easier to spot illegal or unsafe operations. Hosts who fail to register or who advertise without the official ID number face fines that can reach up to 500,000 euros, depending on the gravity and recurrence of the offense.

In parallel, many autonomous communities and city councils have introduced territorial caps on tourist flats, zoning rules that confine them to specific streets or districts, and restrictions on converting whole residential buildings to short-stay use. In some areas, officials now require hosts to renew licences every five years and to meet building, accessibility and safety standards similar to those of small hotels.

Platforms themselves have been made jointly responsible for compliance. Under Spain’s consumer and housing rules, they are obliged to verify licence numbers, remove listings flagged as non-compliant and cooperate with inspections and data-sharing. Failure to do so can trigger the kind of multi-million euro penalties now levelled at Airbnb.

Barcelona, Valencia and regional crackdowns

Spain’s national action is reinforced by some of the most aggressive local measures seen anywhere in Europe. Barcelona, a city that has long been at the forefront of the debate on short-term rentals, has pledged to eliminate all 10,000 of its licensed tourist apartments by the end of 2028. City officials plan to gradually repurpose those units for long-term housing, betting that the traditional hotel sector and regulated alternatives can absorb visitor demand.

Valencia, another Mediterranean magnet facing rapid tourism growth, has unveiled what local authorities describe as the toughest crackdown yet on illegal holiday lets. New regulations sharply restrict expansion in central and coastal districts where residents say they are being priced out, and introduce a dense web of obligations, from digital tracking systems to caps on the share of tourist flats allowed in any single building.

Elsewhere, regions such as Andalusia, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia have moved to cancel thousands of existing registrations deemed irregular and to block new ones in already saturated zones. In September, the national government announced the removal of around 53,000 tourist flats from the official registry, with the stated goal of converting them into permanent rentals.

These reforms have significant implications for property owners and investors who have built business models around platforms like Airbnb. Many now face stricter inspections, higher compliance costs and increased legal risk if they attempt to operate in a grey area. At the same time, some local hotel associations and residents’ groups have welcomed the changes as a long overdue rebalancing of Spain’s urban economies.

Airbnb’s response and the battle over blame

Airbnb insists that it does not oppose regulation and that it encourages hosts to follow local laws. The company has highlighted the surge in properties now displaying valid registration numbers in Spain, describing 2025 as the start of a “new chapter” marked by closer collaboration with the housing ministry and regional authorities.

Executives argue, however, that focusing on its platform alone oversimplifies a complex housing crisis driven by factors such as limited new construction, stagnant wages, speculative investment funds and demographic shifts. Airbnb says the vast majority of its Spanish hosts are individuals or families renting out an extra room or a second home, not large-scale corporate landlords, and that this supplementary income helps many households cope with inflation and rising living costs.

The company has also criticised what it calls “indiscriminate” enforcement methods, pointing to previous disputes where Spain’s Supreme Court questioned whether every type of listing should be required to show a registration number. Airbnb contends that some regional rules are inconsistent or unclear, creating confusion for hosts and leaving the platform exposed to sanctions for technicalities rather than deliberate wrongdoing.

Spanish officials reject that narrative, arguing that the scale of non-compliance uncovered through the national registry and regional inspections points to a structural problem. They say enforcing clear, uniform rules is essential to protect both consumers and law-abiding operators, and that allowing a parallel, largely unregulated market in tourist housing undermines that effort.

What it means for travelers and hosts

For travelers planning trips to Spain, the immediate impact of the fine is unlikely to be dramatic, but the cumulative effect of the country’s crackdown is already reshaping the accommodation map in popular destinations. Visitors can expect to find fewer “cheap and cheerful” entire-apartment listings in the historic centres of Barcelona, Valencia or Seville than in previous years, as thousands of units are delisted or converted back to residential use.

At the same time, remaining short-term rentals are under pressure to become more professional, transparent and compliant. Travelers may notice more detailed licence information on booking pages, stricter check-in procedures, and hosts who are more attentive to local noise and occupancy rules to avoid jeopardising their permits.

For hosts, the risk calculus has changed. Those who have not registered or who are operating in zoning-restricted areas face higher chances of inspection, heavier fines and, in some cases, orders to cease operations altogether. Even fully legal hosts need to stay on top of evolving regional rules, licence renewal deadlines and tax obligations, as authorities use data from the national registry and platforms to cross-check declarations.

Some smaller landlords are choosing to exit the tourist market voluntarily, either because returns no longer justify the regulatory burden or because they see better long-term stability in traditional rental contracts. Others are pivoting to medium-term stays aimed at digital nomads, students or temporary workers, a segment that in some regions is subject to slightly looser controls than pure holiday lets.

Spain’s broader campaign against big platforms

The action against Airbnb forms part of a broader campaign by Spain’s government to assert tighter control over multinational platforms seen as shaping consumer markets without sufficient accountability. In 2024, authorities levied a 413 million euro fine on Booking.com for alleged abuse of market dominance related to its dealings with hotels and other accommodation providers.

Other sectors have also been targeted. Low-cost airline Ryanair was hit with a 108 million euro penalty for charging passengers additional fees for cabin bags, a practice that Spanish regulators and European authorities deemed unfair. Together, these cases signal that Spain is willing to test the boundaries of consumer and competition law to rein in what it considers harmful business models.

In the field of housing, Madrid has emphasised that there is no single tool that can solve the crisis. Alongside enforcement against illegal rentals, the government is increasing subsidies for social housing, offering incentives for landlords to sign long-term leases, and giving municipalities greater powers to declare “stressed zones” where rent controls and tighter tourist limits can be applied.

Still, the visibility of Airbnb and the symbolic weight of tourist flats in gentrifying neighbourhoods mean that short-term rental platforms are likely to remain in the political spotlight. The new fine is both a financial and a messaging instrument, aimed at convincing voters that authorities are willing to confront powerful corporations on behalf of residents struggling to keep a foothold in Spain’s most sought-after cities.

FAQ

Q1. What exactly did Spain fine Airbnb for?
Spain fined Airbnb for advertising tens of thousands of tourist rentals that lacked mandatory registration numbers, used incorrect or misleading licence details, or failed to properly identify whether the host was a private individual or a professional operator, in breach of national rules on tourist accommodation.

Q2. How large is the fine against Airbnb?
The Spanish consumer rights ministry has imposed a penalty of 64 million euros on Airbnb, an amount officials say is roughly six times the profits earned from the non-compliant listings identified by regulators.

Q3. Will the fine affect travelers using Airbnb in Spain?
Most travelers will still be able to use Airbnb, but they may see fewer listings in highly regulated city centres and coastal hotspots, as illegal or unlicensed properties are removed from the platform and stricter rules reduce the number of available tourist flats.

Q4. Is Airbnb shutting down operations in Spain?
No. Airbnb continues to operate in Spain and has signalled that it will appeal the fine while working with authorities to ensure that listings comply with national and regional regulations and display valid registration numbers.

Q5. Why is Spain focused on tourist rentals now?
Spain is targeting illegal tourist rentals because officials and many residents see them as a key driver of the housing crisis, arguing that large numbers of homes diverted to short-term holiday use reduce supply for permanent residents and push rents and prices higher.

Q6. What new rules apply to tourist apartments in Spain?
Every property used as a tourist or seasonal rental must now be registered in a national database and display its unique identification number in all advertisements, while hosts and platforms face substantial fines if they operate without registration or breach local zoning and licensing rules.

Q7. How are Spanish cities like Barcelona and Valencia responding?
Barcelona plans to phase out all licensed tourist apartments by 2028, converting them to long-term housing, while Valencia has introduced some of the country’s strictest controls, including caps on tourist flats in certain districts and tighter penalties for illegal rentals.

Q8. What does Airbnb say about the accusations?
Airbnb argues that it supports clear rules and encourages hosts to comply, but maintains that the enforcement approach in Spain is overly broad and that short-term rentals are being unfairly blamed for a housing crisis driven by multiple economic and structural factors.

Q9. Can hosts still legally rent properties to tourists in Spain?
Yes, hosts can continue renting to tourists if they obtain the required regional licence, register their property in the national system, respect zoning and building rules, and ensure that their listing information on platforms like Airbnb is accurate and up to date.

Q10. Could other European countries follow Spain’s lead?
Several European cities and countries are already tightening rules on short-term rentals, and Spain’s high-profile fine against Airbnb may embolden regulators elsewhere to demand stricter compliance, larger data-sharing commitments and, where necessary, heavier financial penalties.