Tourist rentals withdrawn from the database: Forced closure required
In a bid to regulate the booming short-term rental market and address the concerns of oversaturation and illegal listings, the Junta de Andalucía has implemented significant regulations on Airbnb-style tourist rentals.
Key points of these regulations and their impacts include:
- **Closure of Thousands of Rentals:** About 9,200 tourist rental properties in Andalusia have been ordered to close as they were removed from the official register. This move, supported by the new decree 31/2024, allows local councils to impose limits on the number of tourist rentals per building, neighborhood, or district to reduce the saturation of this type of accommodation.
- **New Licensing and Registration Requirements:** Starting in 2025, all holiday rental properties in Andalusia must obtain a new or additional license number to operate legally. The Junta de Andalucía is assisting property owners in this registration process but emphasizes strict compliance with these updated rules. Failure to register by July 1, 2025, can lead to penalties and difficulties in advertising on major platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com.
- **Enhanced Enforcement and Cooperation:** The new regulations empower the regional tourism authority to collaborate with other public administrations and private entities to improve information sharing and enforcement efficiency, speeding up inspections and compliance controls.
- **Legal Crackdowns on Non-Compliant Listings:** Spain has ordered Airbnb to remove thousands of illegal listings nationally, with around 66,000 listings targeted countrywide. Although this specific figure is national, Andalusia is a significant focus area due to its tourism volume. Courts have mandated the immediate delisting of nearly 5,000 properties violating tourist accommodation rules. Airbnb contests the rulings, arguing it is a platform, not the operator responsible for compliance.
- **Market Impact:** The crackdown and stricter regulations have led to a reduction in the number of legally available tourist rentals, pushing some operators out of the market. Meanwhile, there is a noted shift in tourist preferences where more visitors to Costa del Sol and other Andalusian destinations choose flexible Airbnb-style rentals over traditional hotels, despite hotel bookings slightly decreasing in 2025. The government faces the challenge of balancing this changing demand with regulatory compliance and housing pressures.
Overall, the Junta de Andalucía's crackdown aims to regulate the short-term rental market more tightly, prevent oversaturation that harms local housing availability, and ensure tourist rentals meet legal conditions, through licensing, limits on rental density, and enforcement actions against illegal listings. The collaborations are helping to reduce the time taken for inspections carried out by the Andalusian government and other authorities.
- "The implementation of new regulations in the short-term rental market in Andalusia, such as the closure of thousands of rentals and enhanced enforcement, may impact the lifestyle and travel choices of potential tourists, as the availability of Airbnb-style accommodations decreases."
- "In response to the stricter licensing and registration requirements for tourist rentals in Andalusia, there could be a shift in the finance sector, as property owners may need to allocate additional resources to meet the updated rules, potentially affecting their general-news headlines and political discussions surrounding affordable housing and economic development."
