(Editor’s note: This is Pt. 1 of a two-part post about the pressure short-stay rentals are putting on residential real estate in Spain.)
Spain currently is the second most visited country in the world by tourists and predictions are that by 2040, it will overtake France and be the number one tourist destination. The country is very reliant on tourism, with 13 percent of GDP made up by tourism in 2024, and that figure being expected to continue to rise.
Spain has had a love affair with tourists since the 1960s and tourism will continue to be the backbone of the economy for many places in the country. However, there has been some backlash, particularly in Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, pushing for greater control over mass tourism.
It’s important to stress that here on the Costa del Sol, there is still an overwhelmingly positive view of tourism and that the area is very welcoming to tourists and that Spain is not alone in facing this issue.
Over-tourism linked to housing shortages
This is definitely a global problem, in areas where there are large numbers of people buying for investment and holiday rentals. Around the world this is causing issues, as it limits the housing stock available for local people and pushes up prices until they are out of reach for people from the local area.
Spain definitely does not hate tourists, and the anti-tourism protests in Spain are more about control, imposing limits and ensuring there are enough properties available to locals. There have already been changes in this direction, with the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) requiring better regulation and the Supreme Court deeming holiday rentals as businesses, therefore in some cases not allowed within communities or developments. Barcelona is planning to ban Airbnb altogether from 2028, although whether that is really possible is in doubt, with over 10,000 Airbnbs currently in the city.
What’s behind the anti-tourism protests and measures?
One of the main frustrations with over-tourism and one of the drivers for the protests is a lack of
infrastructure to cope with the extra demand that tourism puts on the country.
There were more than 85 million visitors to Spain last year and that puts a lot of pressure on the country’s resources and infrastructure. The aim is to protect their towns and cities from the influx of tourists and fund any changes to the infrastructure that is required.
Trying to restore balance in housing v. holiday rentals
However, they are not treating all aspects of tourism as the same.
From a governmental and regulation point of view, they are predominantly concerned about the unregistered tourism rentals. This is something which has been better regulated for some time. The Junta de Andalucía has a scheme where if you want to rent your property on a short-term basis, you have to have a license, pay taxes and abide by the rules. This is there to improve the quality of holiday rental properties and of course collect tax revenues, which weren’t previously being declared.
Another concern with high levels of properties being used as holiday rentals, is that it blocks people who were born and bred in the area from purchasing property, or renting long term.
Barcelona is the perfect example of a city which has probably gone too far. There are too many properties that are now registered for tourism, and there’s nowhere for the locals to go and buy.
We expect to see percentage limits being put on developments, towns and cities requiring that the holiday rentals to property stock must stay below a certain limit – perhaps 20 percent or 30 percent of the total. That would restore some balance in these communities which are worse effected.
These drivers, coming from fiscal, political or economic agendas, have collided to create this perfect storm and push people out to protest. It has also led to sweeping statements and demands, such as abolishing all the holiday rentals in Barcelona, which I find hard to believe could happen. You’re talking about 10,000 properties. You’re talking about people’s livelihoods. There are people that own 30 or 40 properties and run a business employing 10 or 20 people.
I don’t know if you can ethically, politically or financially just say no and turn off that income stream for so many. I believe that there will be workarounds to enable some to continue, but with limits and better regulation.
What rentals will be allowed?
We’ve heard that some of the communities are saying that they’ll ban Airbnb and not allow rentals for one or two nights. But they will allow a week or more, on the basis of signing a temporary contract. Here in Andalucía, there was a Supreme Court ruling a few years ago allowing communities to decide for themselves whether they allow tourist rentals or not. To do so, you had to have a clear 60/40 majority vote.
And if you vote on the issue and have the majority, then effectively, you could ban holiday rentals in your community. However, the vast majority of the communities have not taken that extreme measure.
That’s because it’s not a problem with tourism per se. In fact, in my opinion, it’s not necessarily directed at tourism itself or the tourists. It’s just what that influx of people and the housing restrictions of holiday rentals brings.
The Spanish want tourism. We need tourism as a nation in Spain, but it’s about just controlling some of the elements and restricting the type of tourist. When they say the minimum length of stay is seven nights, this discourages disruptive tourists such as hens and stags and lads’ weekends, which can cause problems.
By introducing a seven-day minimum stay, they hope to encourage more respectful guests.
This is happening with a lot of the developments in Puerto Banus and the Golden Mile on the Costa del Sol. The other thing that they’ve mentioned on a lot of communities, is charging apartment owners who do rent their properties 20-to-30-percent more in community fees. This is to counteract the extra footfall and pressure on the amenities.
Lastly, we expect to see more communities deciding what percentage of holiday lets they would want in that urbanisation, to ensure the balance remains in favour of residents and homes for private use.
We’d expect more to implement a limit of 20 percent or 30 percent, to keep things on an even keel and avoid the issues that we’re seeing in Barcelona.
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Read more about Spain and real estate here in Dispatches’ archives.
Sean Woolley is the founder and director of Cloud Nine Spain. With 20 years’ experience of helping clients buy and sell properties in Spain, he’s known as “The Property Doctor” and has contributed to a host of publications. He has recently written the book “From the Ground Up – The Insider’s Guide to Buying Spanish Property,” sharing his years of experience, real life stories, tips and tricks with buyers interested in investing in Spanish Real Estate.
