Airbnb removes almost 65,000 'illegal listings' at request of Spain's consumer affairs ministry

Airbnb has removed nearly 65,000 "illegal listings" following a request made several months ago by Spain's Ministry of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs.

The ministry classified the listings as "unlawful" for lacking the required licenses, in violation of current regulations, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.

The removal of ads follows legal backing from the courts, the ministry said, referring specifically to a ruling by the Madrid High Court that upheld the removal of 5,800 listings in Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands.

A further 54,728 listings on the platform have been identified as lacking an official registration number.

As of July 1, all tourist rentals must be officially registered, with Spain becoming the first EU country to enforce new short-term rental registry rules through a single digital platform.

The goal is to "guarantee the constitutional right to housing over the profits of large multinational corporations."

Data sharing

Two weeks ago, Airbnb reached an agreement with Spain's housing ministry to remove listings without a registration code.

As part of the deal, starting in August, Airbnb will be required to provide the ministry with monthly reports containing detailed information about active listings, including national and regional registration codes that prove their legality.

Barcelona

The measures agreed between Airbnb and Spain's housing ministry earlier this month coincide with with recent demands by Barcelona City Council for the platform to remove illegal listings within 48 hours.

There was "dialogue" but no consensus when Barcelona mayor, Jaume Collboni, and the CEO of Airbnb in Spain met in June, against the backdrop of the housing crisis and plans from the council to remove all tourist apartments from the city by 2028.

Airbnb has urged Barcelona to reconsider its intention to eliminate tourist apartments, and accused Barcelona City Council of applying an "indiscriminate methodology" in its requests to have listings removed.