Spain is finding innovative ways to cut down on tourist apartments, even banning them completely in some places.

In Spanish cities suffering from overtourism, rules have slowly been introduced to help regulate numbers, including limits on the number of tourist rentals.

 Despite this, statistics from the Spanish government show that the number of tourist apartments has increased by nine per cent in the last year, with more than 340,000 now registered. This means in some cities there is one tourist rental for every 1.5 square kilometre and for every 139 locals.

But tourist overcrowding is just part of the issue. The other side is Spain’s severe housing crisis, which means fewer and fewer people can afford increasing rents and purchase prices. Many young people in particular can’t get access to accommodation and are forced to live at home well into their 30s. 

The proliferation of Airbnb-style apartments is contributing to this by driving up market prices, as well as reducing the availability of properties for locals. 

Just a couple of weeks ago, Barcelona announced the most drastic step yet - the intention to eliminate all tourist rentals by 2028. This was met with a mixed response from both local Catalans and the city’s large foreign-born population, which has now reached 25 per cent.


Locals welcome Spain’s crackdown on holiday rentals

“Long story short, it's positive news for locals,” says resident Mika Casalis. “Every summer the rent soars through the roof.”

Amanda Ditzler, who used to live in a building with 15 Airbnbs, agrees. “I felt unsafe,” she says. “On the weekends the building was overrun and many tourists treated the premises like a hotel, leaving messes, playing loud music, etc.  

“I think people should be able to use their property as they choose, but I also think that if you treat your residence as a commercial business you should have different rules and work hard to respect others’ lives. Most people in Barcelona won’t miss tourist rentals.”

But foreign residents Brian Lund Larsen and Alex Nowakowski aren’t convinced eliminating them will actually solve the housing issue.

“I'm not sure it'll do much for rent prices, but I don't really care either - I just don't want to be woken up by parties from drunk tourists in the middle of the night or find them passed out half-naked on our stairs in the morning,” Brian says.

“Eliminating thousands of legal Airbnbs in a city of 1.6 million is not going to solve the problem,” says Alex. “If anything it will just light a greater fire under the already present black market of rentals. I think the focus needs to start turning more towards building more housing.” 


Where else in Spain is clamping down on tourist apartments?

But Barcelona is just one city in a long list of Spanish destinations taking a stand against tourist rentals.

In April in Madrid - a city with over 14,000 tourist apartments, almost double that of Barcelona - the City Council announced it would temporarily suspend granting new tourist licences.

While in May, Valencia City Hall also said it would suspend issuing new licences for at least a year, with the potential to be extended for one more. More recently, Valencian police have been cracking down on illegal tourist apartments and increasing fines for breaches.

The Andalusian capital of Seville also decided last month that it wouldn’t renew any licences for tourist rentals in the main neighbourhoods of the historic centre.

Málaga, which has the third highest number of tourist flats in Spain, despite it being the sixth largest in terms of population, has also introduced restrictions. It no longer allows new tourist apartments to operate unless they have their own separate entrance. As most of them are located in apartment buildings, it ensures fewer people can apply for licences. 

“There’s a housing crisis that cannot be ignored,” says Hanni Martini, a food expert based in Málaga. “I don’t know what the answer is but it’s certainly not to make tourists feel unwelcome. Málaga - like many provinces in Spain - relies heavily on tourism. It’s our single biggest industry.”

“I live in the historic centre and still feel like it’s a ‘neighbourhood’ full of locals. There are tourist rentals in our building, but we haven’t had any issues with them. 

“I think when we travel we should try to support more sustainable tourism, such as staying in hotels, shopping from small, independent stores and eating in locally owned establishments.” 


Majority of tourist rentals are owned by big businesses

Some people argue that eliminating tourist apartments means locals won’t have the chance to make money from their properties and create their own income to benefit from tourism. But the truth is that mainly big businesses own most of the properties, not individuals. 

For example, according to Barcelona City Council, only 34.8 per cent of tourist licence holders own only one apartment, the rest have five or more.

Overall, it seems like locals feel like these measures are at least a step in the right direction, even if they’re not enough to solve all the issues.