Barcelona Announces Plan To Ban Tourist Rental Apartments By 2028

The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, has today announced a controversial and drastic move to get rid of all short-term apartment rentals for tourists by 2028.

Rising living costs in Barcelona

The boom in short-term rental apartments in Barcelona has caused a significant increase in living costs in the Catalan capital. Many residents are unable to afford an apartment after rents have risen by close to 70% in the past 10 years, while the cost of buying a home has increased by almost 40%, Collboni said at a City Council meeting on 21 June, adding that access to housing has become a driver of inequality, particularly for young people. This has led the local government to take drastic measures to guarantee access to housing in the city, the mayor of Barcelona continued.

“We cannot permit that the majority of young people who wish to leave home also have to leave Barcelona,” said Collboni, according to leading Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Spain, the second most-visited country in the world

Spain is one of the most-visited countries in the world. According to a report published by Statista in June 2024, the country’s visitor numbers are second only to those of France, having received more than 85 million international tourists in 2023, a higher number than the pre-pandemic record of 83 million in 2019. Meanwhile, Catalonia, with its capital city Barcelona, was the region of Spain that received the most international tourists in 2023.

In recent years it has become increasingly tricky to obtain permission for short-term apartment rentals in Barcelona. Since 2012, a tourist licence has been required in order to legally rent out an apartment defined as a “Vivienda de Uso Turístico” (home for tourism use) in Barcelona for a duration of fewer than 31 days. Last year, the rules were tightened with licenses being limited to a maximum of ten tourist apartments per 100 inhabitants. In addition, the city put an end to permanent licenses for tourist apartments, instead forcing them to be renewed every five years. The local government has also been redoubling its efforts to hunt down and shutter illegal tourist rentals.

The war against illegal tourist apartments

These measures have resulted in the shutting down of 9,700 illegal tourist rentals since 2016, while almost 3,500 apartments have been converted back into housing for local residents.

Today’s move is the most drastic to date, one that the leading Barcelona-based daily newspaper La Vanguardia predicts will result in a “bloody judicial war”. If Mayor Collboni gets his way, the City Council will eliminate the 10,101 licensed tourist apartments currently in the city no later than November 2028. His move, which has left the tourism sector stunned, is expected to be opposed by various players, not least the employers’ association of Barcelona’s tourist apartments, and will likely result in a drawn-out legal battle.

Meanwhile, vacation rental platform Airbnb, which hosts a considerable number of Barcelona’s short-term rental listings, has not yet made an official statement.