Airbnb fined £56m by Spain for promoting unlicensed properties | EUROtoday

The Spanish authorities has fined property leases big Airbnb €64m (£56m) for promoting unlicensed flats.

It additionally mentioned that a few of the properties marketed within the well-liked vacationer vacation spot had been banned from being rented.

The effective, which can’t be appealed in opposition to, means Airbnb has to withdraw the adverts selling unlicensed properties. The BBC has contacted Airbnb for remark.

Spain, one of many high most visited nations on this planet, has a buoyant tourism financial system however that has fuelled considerations about unaffordable housing, as excessive demand from guests raises the worth of housing, pushing native individuals out of the market.

“There are thousands of families who are living on the edge due to housing, while a few get rich with business models that expel people from their homes,” mentioned Spain’s client rights minister Pablo Bustinduy in an announcement.

Like many nations, Spain’s authorities can be involved about how short-term vacation lets can change a neighbourhood, fuelled by a transient inhabitants of holiday-goers.

The nation has been combating a battle with 1000’s of Airbnb listings, banning them and clamping down on what number of properties the agency can promote. In May, there have been demonstrations in opposition to the agency forward of the busy summer time season.

Spain’s authorities mentioned 65,122 adverts on Airbnb breached client guidelines, together with promotion of properties that weren’t licensed to be rented, and properties whose licence quantity didn’t match with these on official registers.

Writing on social community Bluesky, Mr Bustinduy mentioned: “We’ll prove it as many times as necessary: no company, no matter how big or powerful, is above the law. Even less so when it comes to housing.”

Globally, a number of well-liked vacationer cities place heavy restriction on Airbnb, together with Barcelona, New York, Berlin, Paris and even San Francisco, the place Airbnb was based.

The tech agency began up in 2007 however turned massively well-liked round 2014, as vacationers appeared for reasonable lodging with out the tax prices imposed on inns.

Users swelled as anyone might change into a “host” and make some further money from renting out their spare room – although many main cities have since positioned limits on most of these leases, as complaints of noisy home events and absent hosts turned a problem.