Across Spain, the rapid growth of tourist rentals is intensifying an already dire housing crisis. In cities like Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, thousands of homes that once housed long-term tenants have been converted into short-term holiday apartments, publicised on websites such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
This transformation has shrunk the supply of affordable housing, driving up rents and forcing many locals to the outskirts, or out of the market entirely. Now, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has announced plans to remove 53,000 tourist apartments from rental platforms across the country, including a whopping 6,000 in the Malaga province alone, according to The Olive Press. The Socialist leader made the announcement at a rally at the University of Malaga after visiting an affordable housing construction site. Speaking to supporters, Mr Sanchez declared that his government had detected “thousands of irregularities” in properties listed as holiday rentals.
Mr Sanchez said these problematic properties – discovered after analysing data from Spain’s unique rental registry – would be “removed” from that registry and converted into permanent rental accommodation for young people and families.
“We are going to demand the removal of 53,000 tourist flats from platforms for not complying with regulations, so they become permanent rentals for young people and families in this country,” Sanchez announced.
“That is governing for the people – that’s what we do from the PSOE.”
New regulations came into effect in July, requiring all properties offered as tourist rentals in Spain to have a mandatory registration code, including those on platforms like Airbnb, to ensure legal operation. Property owners must apply for and receive a unique registration number, which then must be displayed on all online advertisements for the property. Properties without this code after the deadline have not been able to be legally rented.
As of May 2024, there were over 351,000 tourist flats in Spain, an increase of 9.2% year-on-year, according to Idealista. These flats represent about 1.33% of the total residential stock nationwide. Nearly half of all tenants now spend 40% of their income on rent and utilities – significantly higher than the EU average of 27%.
In the Balearic Islands, the housing crisis has hit a new level, with housing increasingly becoming a luxury instead of a necessity. According to a report in July, flat prices in the archipelago have gone up by an eye-watering 14.4% in only one year. The rise in prices has multiplied sevenfold in line with the rise of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to a report by property valuation company TINSA. Housing prices are now 25% higher than they were in 2007 and 2008, just 18 years ago.
Meanwhile, a study by InfoJobs and Fotocasa earlier this year revealed that renters allocate on average 47% of their gross income towards housing costs – the highest level recorded in the past five years. While average wages have risen modestly, up 3.1% in 2024 to reach an annual gross salary of just over €27,000 (£23,000), rental prices have soared by almost five times that rate. For a typical 861-square-foot flat, tenants are now paying upwards of €1,060 (£902).