On September 14, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that 53,000 listings will be removed from short-term rental websites for not complying with new rules declared in July 2025. The aim is that those listings, previously aimed at tourists, will now return to the residential market and provide housing for residents and young people who are struggling with today’s prices.
The cancellation of the listings was triggered by failure to comply with a new mandatory national registry introduced on July 1, 2025, which requires registration in order to publish a short-term rental listing on websites like Airbnb.
The region with the most short-term rentals revoked was the tourist hotspot of Andalusia, with more than 15,000 listings eliminated. The Canary Islands and Catalonia ranked second and third. Spain is proving to be on the frontline in the global struggle of cities and communities to handle the impact of overtourism and its effect on the housing market.Indeed, the so-called “Airbnb effect” is becoming a major concern, as it impacts housing stock, prices, and communities.
Despite the company's denials, cities around the world are scrambling to curtail the impact of short-term rentals.But even if Airbnb is harming local housing markets and communities, can actions like the one taken by Spain really stop this massively popular, multibillion-dollar powerhouse?
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