This time, there is no longer any question of framing or limiting. Barcelona wants to eliminate all tourist rentals within five years. This announcement comes as the Catalan city has tried everything in recent years to stem the Airbnb phenomenon and the rush towards accommodation platforms for vacationers.
Before reaching this point, the city tested everything: the gentle method by appealing to common sense among owners, the increase in the number of municipal inspections to track down irregularities, the application of fines in dissuasive amounts, the limitation of permits in congested neighborhoods and encouragement to shift apartment supply to less congested areas. In vain.
Tired of war, the mayor of Barcelona, the socialist Jaume Collboni, bangs his fist on the table. He announces that none of the municipal licenses authorizing seasonal rentals will be renewed, which means that tourist apartments will all have disappeared within five years.
Housing crisis
In this city of 1.65 million inhabitants which receives 12 million visitors per year, it is a question of responding to the growing irritation among the local population. Mobilizations are increasing against tourist pressure, the invasion of urban space and the transformation of neighborhoods. But the measure aims, above all, to respond to the housing crisis and the surge in rents (more than 70% increase in the last ten years) while owners have preferred to turn to tourist rentals, which are much more profitable.
Ideally, this movement should bring 10,000 housing units back into the ordinary rental stock, calculates the municipal planning councilor, Laia Bonet. “Tourism is a fundamental part of the city’s activity and we need to count on it, but we want to manage it differently, to prevent it from influencing everything,” she explains. “It should not be tourism that determines the possibilities of living or not in Barcelona. On the contrary, the model of the tourist offer must depend on access to housing for residents. »
To achieve this, the town hall has therefore decided to simply remove the category of tourist accommodation and seasonal rental authorizations. This drastic announcement caused a lot of noise in Spain, at a time when, like Barcelona, most large cities, starting with Madrid, Malaga and San Sebastian, are seeking to cope with the deployment of tourist accommodation.
Witch hunt
In the hotel sector, we applaud the idea of eradicating this offer perceived as increasingly aggressive unfair competition. But the association of owners of tourist accommodation who will lose their seasonal rental license denounces an unfair witch hunt and is preparing to go to court.
While his detractors cry populism, the mayor of Barcelona points out that it is a question of facing “one of the main problems of the city and the country, namely access to housing”, especially for youth. The shift is necessary according to him, after years of attempts to facilitate coexistence between residents and visitors.
Mafia networks
So far nothing has slowed down the phenomenon of rentals through platforms, such as Airbnb or Booking. On the contrary, the local press regularly reports on the takeover of apartments, even entire buildings, by mafia networks. The latter, who sometimes act without the knowledge of even the owners of the premises, hide behind pseudonyms and know how to change their advertisements on the platforms in time to avoid being spotted by municipal services.
However, it is too early to know how the new law could be applied in practice, if it would really put an end to these illicit practices and what compensation could receive those who have invested in good faith in a hitherto legal and regulated activity.
