By 2028, Airbnb could be totally banned in this European travel hotspot

Last year, 15.6 cardinal tourists headed to Barcelona, 1 of the world’s astir vibrant formation cities. 

From the awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia and strolls on La Rambla, to formation parties and clubbing until dawn, there’s thing for everyone successful the Spanish hotspot. 

But the city’s plans to prohibition short-term rental apartments by 2028 person near the aboriginal uncertain for holidaymakers, making headlines astir the satellite and sparking threats of billion-euro lawsuits.

Airbnb has present urged Barcelona to ‘rethink’ its crackdown on short-term rentals successful the city, claiming that its restrictions lone payment the edifice sector. 

In a missive sent implicit the play to Mayor Jaume Collboni, Airbnb’s caput of argumentation for Spain and Portugal, Sara Rodriguez, said: ‘The lone wintertime from Barcelona’s warfare connected short-term rentals is the edifice industry.’

In June, Collboni announced the plans to get escaped of each short-term backstage rentals successful the city, which includes cancelling the licenses of 10,101 apartments presently approved.  

The metropolis initially began the clampdown connected short-term rentals successful 2014, introducing a moratorium connected tourer accommodation licenses, which severely restricted the quality of mundane citizens to stock their homes. 

Airbnb argued that nary of these earlier measures had proven effective. ‘A decennary later, authoritative information shows that portion short-term rentals numbers person fallen, challenges related to lodging and over-tourism are worse than ever,’ it said. 

It claimed that portion the fig of Airbnb listings has fallen implicit the past decade, rents person risen by 70%, portion the mean terms of a location has accrued by 60%. 

Airbnb besides highlighted that successful the past decade, Spain has built less homes than astatine immoderate constituent since 1970, contempt an summation successful demand, and that the city’s vacant homes outnumber short-term rentals by 8 to one. 

‘Policies that code this contented are much apt to boost affordable lodging proviso than clamping down connected Airbnb,’ it said, explaining that the tract has removed implicit 7,000 listings from the level since 2018.

Which different European countries are cracking down connected short-term rentals?

Across Europe, galore countries are either restricting oregon banning short-term lets.

UK

Prior to quality of the General Election, the UK government unveiled plans that would mean readying support is required to rent retired a spot for much than 90 days per year.

Michael Gove said this would beryllium to ‘strike a equilibrium betwixt giving section radical entree to much affordable lodging portion ensuring the visitant system continues to flourish.’

There would besides beryllium a mandatory nationalist registry for section authorities to support way of precisely however galore short-term lets are successful the area.

In response, Airbnb said: ‘We recognise determination are historical lodging challenges facing immoderate communities successful the UK.

‘While short-term lets are not the basal origin of lodging challenges, we privation to beryllium a liable spouse and assistance marque communities stronger and enactment manus successful manus to code the challenges they face.’

Paris, France

If you’ve got a short-term fto successful Paris, beryllium careful: the metropolis has a dedicated policing portion with the sole absorption of catching and fining amerciable renters.

Here, owners are lone allowed to rent their superior residence (that’s the spot you unrecorded for astatine slightest 8 months per year) for a maximum of 120 days per year. However, you tin rent a azygous country without immoderate clip limit.

Vienna, Austria

If you rent retired an flat successful the Austrian capital, you tin lone connection it retired for a maximum of 90 days per year.

Parts of Vienna had already imposed these restrictions backmost successful 2018, but it present applies to the full city.

Portugal

Last year, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced that nary caller licenses for vacation lets would beryllium issued. Again, Portuguese locals were struggling to spend rental costs amid a lodging crisis.

Existing licenses volition besides beryllium reviewed each 5 years, and Airbnb owners volition beryllium fixed a taxation interruption if they person their properties into modular homes.

The lone objection to the rules are successful agrarian areas which the Prime Minister said bash not person the aforesaid ‘urban pressure’.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Dutch superior has peculiarly strict rules. Here, Airbnb owners tin lone rent retired their homes for a maximum of conscionable 30 days per year.

If you spell supra this clip frame, you request a peculiar permit.

Italy

Short word rentals are heavy regulated successful Italy.

Florence has astir apt had the astir utmost crackdown successful caller years. Here, caller short-term licenses person been completely banned in the metropolis centre.

In Rome, rules are choky too: you tin lone rent retired your short-term fto for a maximum of 60 days per year.

And, successful 2023, Italy’s Tourism Ministry drafted laws which would spot short-term lets curbed crossed the full country.

Under the proposals, determination would beryllium a two-night minimum enactment request and a caller benignant of recognition for spot listings.

‘Today successful Rome determination are implicit 25,000 accommodation facilities,’ said Alessandro Massimo Nucara, wide manager of the nationalist relation for edifice businesses.

‘That’s the equivalent of 10,000 hotels. In bid to unfastened a edifice 1 has to petition an infinite fig of permits. But erstwhile it comes to opening what would beryllium the equivalent of 10,000 hotels, it’s a antithetic communicative arsenic each these permits are not required.’

Can I person a enactment successful my Airbnb accomodation?

Last twelvemonth it was revealed Airbnb owners and guests crossed the full tract could soon beryllium facing sanctions if they use rental properties to propulsion parties as portion of a authorities thrust to stamp retired anti-social behaviour.

Referencing sound problems, drunken behaviour and disorderly conduct, the program promises the instauration of a caller registration strategy that would supply councils with the information to place short-term lets successful the section area.

If immoderate short-term rental spot proved ‘problematic’, section officials could instrumentality enactment against those deemed responsible.

What other is Barcelona doing to curb tourism?

Earlier this year, Barcelona became the latest European vacation hotspot to introduce a heftier tourer tax.

Since April 1 2024, the city’s tourer taxation – which was archetypal introduced successful 2012 – roseate from €2.75 (£2.36) per nighttime to €3.25 (£2.79) per night.

The Spanish authorities approved plans to summation the taxation to up to €4, truthful determination whitethorn beryllium different summation adjacent year.

The surcharge hike volition person a sound connected effect connected accommodation prices.

Now that guests volition person to portion ways with €3.25 for the tax, a enactment successful a five-star edifice volition present outgo €6.75 (£5.79) per nighttime erstwhile factoring successful the caller surcharge and the accommodation-specific tax, which adds up to €47.25 (£40.51) per idiosyncratic to enactment for the week.

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