Catalonia lists 9,000 illegal tourist apartments on Airbnb

The board of Catalonia Tourism has listed 9,000 Airbnb ads for illegal tourist apartments, as first reported by the Catalan public broadcaster Catalunya Ràdio and later confirmed by the Catalan News Agency (ACN) on Friday.

The list was compiled using government software that identifies for tourist apartments online without a tourist license.

The government has requested that Airbnb remove these ads, and sources from the tourism board say that the listings are not included in the 65,000 ads detected on Monday by Spain's consumer affairs ministry.

As Miquel Sàmper, the Catalan business and labor minister, said in early 2025, the software was used to eliminate over 10,000 illegal ads in 2024.

Earlier this year, the cabinet offered the tool to many municipalities across Catalonia. Following the decision, the managing board of the tourism office helped these city councils, and the director, Cristina Lagé, told ACN that it is a tool that "facilitates" this kind of work for local authorities.

Airbnb responds

Airbnb told ACN that tourism authorities "have disregarded proposals and repeatedly ignored" the option to introduce "a simplified framework for removing listings that do not comply with local regulations." 

The company said it hopes that the implementation of European short-term rental regulation "will provide the appropriate framework for data sharing between platforms and local authorities."

The US-based company said that it "always makes it clear" to all hosts that they are "obliged to follow local regulations and must certify that they have permission to list their space." Airbnb added that "if the law requires it," hosts must display their license number.

The firm stressed that whenever an authority "provides verified notice" of non-compliance, it "always" removes the listing.

The company also stated that "nine out of ten hosts" in Catalonia report that the property they advertise "belongs to them or their families."

It also highlighted that "two-thirds of hosts and listings" are located outside the capital cities of Catalonia's four provinces.