The popular tourist city of Alicante is cracking down on the huge numbers of Airbnb and tourist flats.
Up to 20% of homes in districts including the Old Town, San Juan beach and city centre are rental holiday accommodations, according to The Olive Press.
A new city council study has revealed that Alicante has witnessed around a 23% increase in flats being rented out via the internet in the last year. The majority are offered online without the necessary permits, the authority added.
To legally rent out a property in the short term to tourists in Alicante, landlords are required to register the property with the Valencian Tourism Registry and obtain a Tourist Use House License, which involves submitting a declaration of tourist use.
The report calculates that there are around 3,555 tourist homes in Alicante, meaning that, according to the council, 2,596 are being advertised on the Airbnb platform without a registration number issued by the Valencian government.
In areas like San Juan beach, a staggering 75% of promoted holiday properties do not have the mandatory registration.
The new report comes shortly after the city council overwhelmingly approved an up to two year moratorium on awarding new holiday home rental licences.
Rocío Gómez, the area’s urban planning councillor, explained that the two-year ban would provide an opportunity to review and refine regulations governing holiday rentals.
“We aim to purify all those homes that do not comply with the regulations,” she said.
She added that each district of the city will be studied to establish an appropriate number of holiday homes in the neighbourhood.
Other top Spanish destinations have already announced similar limits, while Barcelona’s mayor, Kaume Collboni, also announced plans to ban short-term rentals in the Catalan capital from November 2028.
Alicante, a port city on the east coast of the mainland, is one of the most popular destinations for British tourists, boasting stunning beaches, amazing restaurants and a vibrant nightlife.
In December, Spain opened an investigation into Airbnb for failing to delete thousands of rental offers from its platform in an attempt to curb the business which has been blamed by authorities and many residents for contributing to housing shortages and soaring real estate prices.
As of January 7, the average monthly rent for a property in the Alicante province was 1,371 euros (£1,141), with a single bedroom apartment costing 1,289 euros (£1,073).
According to the council, the average nightly price for the 3,555 tourist homes in Alicante advertised on the Airbnb portal was an eyewatering 107 euros (£89).
With these unbeatable prices, it is therefore not surprising that an increasing number of landlords are turning towards renting to tourists instead of long-term residents in order to increase their profits.
