Crackdown on AirBnB in Spain

Your Rick Steves guide book will have a great list of recommended places to stay. Start there.

What you describe as a "crackdown" on air BnB is happening worldwide, so nobody should be shocked and have their plans completely derailed. There are plenty of other places to stay.

I suppose what I was surprised about was that the listings were still on their site when I included our dates, so I assumed that most would be available. The home share experience was our ideal choice vs. hostels or hotels.

If we have made reservations with an Airbnb could they be cancelled?

Try a Monastery stay. When we were looking for one in Rome, Spain popped up with choices. At monasterystays.com they are under the heading paradors of spain

Your information is incorrect. In the last week, I have booked accomodation in Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid. I have just logged into my airbnb account and did a search using the filters of date, price and whether I wanted a room or an apartment. Heaps of listings in all three cities. So I am not sure where you are coming from. I have only booked a private room as I do not need an apartment to stay in. Just as when occasionally I book a hotel room I do not require a suite.

There is no doubt that cities and countries around Europe are starting to place restrictions on the letting of apartments. At this point renting out a spare bedroom does not seem to be problematic. Renting out a house or an apartment probably is for the simple reason it may deprive locals of affordable accommodation.

Your post is titled "Crackdown on Airbnb in Spain" and a post which contains nothing other than a false allegation that nothing is available to book in Spain.

Not knowing if this crackdown is about AirBnB specifically, I did a little test using Booking.com. I looked for apartments in Madrid for 4 nights from May 6 - May 10. The only filtering I did was to check the $56 - $110 price box and to ask that their review score be 8+. There were 246 results. Of course, more filtering can be done on Booking.com. And you can sort the results in a variety of ways. My favorite is by review score and price. At least you know that the reviews are by people who actually stayed in the places they review.

As has been discussed on the forum before, AirBnB is not the only place to find apartments. There's VRBO, Homeaway and many other local listings online, including an occasional one for just the apartment. It's also been mentioned here that many people list in more than one place, so you might find the same apartment with different prices, pictures, etc. Note that from what has been said, AirBnB's prices are often higher than other places the same apartment might be listed. As I scanned the apartment results I got, I saw several very close or even below your price point. I did not pay attention to the locations.

You may be able to glean that I'm not a fan of AirBnB. There have also been a couple of running discussions about their methods on this forum. This one about being required to clean even if you've paid for cleaning: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/airbnb-how-much-do-you-clean-as-a-guest. And one about the all positive reviews: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/airbnb-why-are-all-the-reviews-positive-and-another-question.

I wouldn't give up on finding an apartment to rent at a reasonable price if that's what you want. However, your price of 75 USD per night is very low at about 66 EUR today and may send you the direction of other kinds of accommodations. In my experiment above, I unchecked the apartments box and checked the hotels one and there were only 57 properties listed, but a few were close to your price point.

As others have said, monastery or hostel-like rooms may be your best bet. Good luck with the search.

Thanks for your input Lo. We are pursuing booking.com, etc.. for private rooms.
It looks like the word 'crackdown' came across as harsh to some readers. I was only quoting an article that I had read just minutes before and was commenting on the fact that the listings I had been following were showing availability for my dates and yet when I followed through on the process that they were no longer available and that surprised me. One of the Superhosts responded to me and told me about the government's new regulations and of course he felt that it was too restrictive because he could no longer offer his place for rent.
I've learned a valuable lesson and if I make any further queries on the forum I will measure every syllable.

Although I should mention there was a bit of a "crackdown" on AirBnB in my hometown of Barcelona. This summer almost 3000 illegal listings were removed, in addition new hotel construction was also halted. Our mayor, Ada Colau, is trying to encourage a more sustainable rental market while reigning in the power of some of these rental schemes.

Particularly in Barcelona, one finds that residents are being pushed out by the rising cost, spurred on by the various short-term rental schemes coupled with the rise of illegal listings. Thus, AirBnB has developed a bit of a bad rap with locals and the city government.

When I first read this posting I wondered if Spain was doing something similar to what Paris has done. Is the article below from May 2018 the one you read? If so it does have quite a bit of useful detail about what's going on.

Spain Cracked Down Hard on Airbnb Last Week.

Googling something like "airbnb spain illegal" produces many other references.

In Sevilla we stayed at a lovely local inn in the old Jewish quarter near the Alcazar and cathedral. In November it was approximately 50 euro with an exceptional breakfast.

Dennis,
I think the key thing to keep in mind with Airbnb is that it is still a relatively new business model with a lot of people who have no formal training in the hospitality industry (for the most part) deciding to become small hotels (which is what Airbnb rentals basically are....whether one room or multiples.
Since regulations (on local levels) and policies with Airbnb will likely continue to morph in the next few years, I think it is absolutely necessary for anyone who books a rental that way to expect some level of the potential need to be flexible.

One example is a change that is happening in Nashville where some permit holders are losing those, due a mistake by Metro Nashville. Without permits, those owners will no longer be able to rent via Airbnb. There have been numerous crackdowns on Airbnb rentals in recent years that targeted people who did not have permits. I was absolutely SHOCKED when I found out one of our tenants was renting a room in her (OUR) place out several years ago WITHOUT our permission, and our lease specifically stated that subletting was not allowed. I required her to instantly cancel any future rentals, and you better believe I followed up to make sure it was done and her posting removed. There are all sorts of liability issues and permit issues....the owner of a property is ultimately responsible.

There is lot of ongoing drama in Nashville where people do not want to be living next to and putting up with the drama of mini-hotels. I watched (on tv) one hearing, where a young lady who owned a house next door to an Airbnb host showed photos of naked people in the Airbnb rented pool next door, along with stories of other disruptive renters in that same Airbnb rental. When she purchased her home, it was residential only....did not expect to be ultimately living next to a mini-night-by-night hotel. So, to whichever city travelers are going, realize neighbors could have experienced similar drama....you will be just one of many who come/go.

Many crackdowns are appropriate and necessary. Likely others will follow.

So, if you can accept that risk for the savings in those overnights, then understand that is a risk you are taking. Granted, many have fabulous experiences with Airbnb...not everyone will have an issue. And, yes, hotels can let down people, too.

Below is an excerpt from the local newspaper, The Tennessean, writer Sandy Mazza, Nashville Tennessean Published 6:00 a.m. CT Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 2:10 p.m. CT Jan. 9, 2019,

Metro Codes officials will send cancellation notices in the coming weeks to more than 100 short-term rental permit holders who got their licenses by mistake in 2018.

Staff members accidentally overlooked a rule in the complicated law governing vacation rental permits in Nashville when approving requests, officials said.

The January 2018 ordinance prohibits licenses in residential areas to lots with two-family homes — such as duplexes and so-called tall-and-skinnies — unless the properties are all owned by the same person, who also lives in one of the residences on the lot. But that rule was not followed.

"Staff’s initial interpretation focused on the provision that limited permits to one per lot, consistent with previous versions of the law," said Sean Braisted, spokesman for Metro Department of Codes.

No permits should have been issued at all after February 2018 to residential two-family lots with multiple owners, according to the law. Short-term rental permits issued before that are not being revoked, however.

An idea for you is to email hotels/inns directly (after you have narrowed down some options) Inquire about rates and mention that you are looking for "budget" rooms. I stayed in a hotel in Madrid that was 75 euro, but I'm sure it is higher in May. I would do some searches on this forum. I have read recommendations on this forum for places in Madrid and Barcelona that seemed to be about in your range.

Please, let's understand what is really happening

Firstly, there's no "crackdown on Airbnb" or any other company. This is a consolidated market economy under common EU regulations and rules. There's however, a crackdown on owners illegally advertising their flats without having the required license to do so, and a prosecution of irresponsible companies that allow illegalities being committed in their online platforms.

Those owners that have applied for and being issued a license -as the law states- have no problem whatsoever. Those companies that abide by the City Hall Regulations (be Barcelona, be Madrid, be wherever) and make sure the appropriate information is displayed on their platforms (ie the HUTB license number for apartments in Barcelona, etc) have no problem whatsoever.

Btw, note Airbnb had been already fined twice in Barcelona for not complying with the law. The second fine was of 600,000€. Both Airbnb and HomeAway, the only two rebel platforms that were in defiance of local law, recently signed an agreement with the City Hall and now they're monitoring that the license information is displayed in their advertisements. It wasn't that difficult, was it?

In the case of the most popular destination, Barcelona, which is the case I am most familiar with as it's my home city:

• Aside from specific agreements with the online platforms to have access to the information about owners placing their flats for rental, it also has a 'specialized brigade' that periodically combs the streets looking for apartment adverts in facades and balconies to cross-check whether they're registered in the licenses' database.
• Being registered is important for everybody for several reasons among which: (1) it helps planning control of the number of licenses served in a specific area in order to reduce the effects of gentrification, (2) it ensures taxes on earnings are being declared, (3) it provides a "legal figure" -in short, it identifies who- to go to (or against!) in case of problems arising (be with the owner, be with the people renting)
• The City Hall has a specific website profusely explaining all about tourist rental flats and apartments: http://meet.barcelona.cat/habitatgesturistics/en

This post does not judge whether this is the way things should work or not, or whether its author agrees or not with what's going on, it just states facts for the sake of those not aware of how is this business regulated over here.

Enjoy!

I'm particularly tickled by what somebody described a couple replies above as the "illegal rentals". If there's an actual Spanish citizen on this thread who cares to eplain what that is and more importantly why it's considered illegal, I'd be very grateful. There are daily (even hourly) apartments to rent almost anywhere I've been. Now if the Spanish government fears that people are buying homes just to rent them out, they could:

• Make it more difficult for foreigners to get a loan and,
• Apply the same procedure to Spanish citizens who already own a house

But cracking down on people's free economic initiatives sound completely absurd. If you close Airbnb, 3 or 4 clones will spring out in a month. Sorry if I vented but we were thinking about buying one of the flats in Barcelona for sale as we love the city and would eventually permanently move there. Yet since the investment will be quite considerable, we were thinking that we could rent it out by Airbnb for a couple years to alleviate some of that financial burden until we move there in 3-4 years.

@Rageredeemer... before making any such move you should familiarise yourself with local law.

For starters, it's not the Spanish government jurisdiction but the Catalan government. Moreover, many of the 'smaller' regulations affecting rentals are under the authority of the respective City Halls, in this case, Barcelona's.

I would strongly recommend consulting with a professional. This might help, it's the Professional Real Estate Agents Organization here in Catalonia, and as per info on renting your property once you buy it, this might help. Note, however, there's currently a temporary restriction on licenses being issued for certain districts of the city.

This, however, it's not a topic appropriate for this forum -as per the terms of use- so understand if I don't continue discussing it any further.

Regards!

PS: And note there's "no discrimination against foreigners", the law in this matter is the same for everybody regardless of your nationality.

@Rageredeemer - By "Illegal Listings", I was referring to the thousands of short term rental listings operating without the required H.U.T license (Habitatge d'ús turístic). This is the local law in Barcelona since 2011 and has nothing to do with "cracking down on people's free economic initiatives". Like Enric, I will not be discussing any further, I just wanted to clarify my earlier comment.

There are existing AirBnB Sevilla renters who post their license number on their listing. They also tell you they need your passport detsils prior to rentsl in oder to register you eith the city...just like the hotels will. Booking apartments should do the same. I see my Madrid apartment is still listed, but do not know the current status for short let apartments. I do believe he owns the entire apartment block which has long and short- term rentals.
Once you start to read and realize what you need to look for, you can start to short list from there. When Venice was planning rental laws, all bookings ceased on April 1 of that year while AirBnB renters waited for the city's announced plan and I expect weeded out most of the ones not prepared to play by the rules.
Here are my rentals.
Madrid
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/12573892?wl_source=list&wl_id=134126049&role=wishlist_public&adults=1&guests=1
Seville. It might be a bit beyond your price, but it is top floor with elevstor and large deck.
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1960965?guests=1&adults=1.
Valencia
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/2121416?guests=1&adults=1
For Barcelona, I ended up cancelling that section of my trip due to the political flavour at the time. I dealt with Frederic who lists seversl apartments in Barcelona, and it seems they had their rental storefront in the building I was renting a unit in. He gave the required refund as well as refunded days he was able to re-rent.....which means I would look to his apartments again if I visit Barcelona. If the listing here is too expensive, look at his other ones. Do recognize, however, Barcelona is expensive. You might ssve money in Valenciamjn order to add to Barcelona.
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1580586?guests=1&adults=1
Good luck

Same ol, same ol.... https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/paris-sues-airbnb-for-illegal-listings-and-seeks-14-2-million/

I concur that Airbnb is not a good portal to use for vacation rental bookings. 100% of the time, they charge more than other websites for the identical rentals. I just booked a rental in Menorca at tripadvisor.com, which charged me 10% less than Airbnb. Also, Airbnb forces you to use DCC, which is a foreign currency exchange rip-off.

Finally, if something happens during your stay, Airbnb will not stand by you. Caveat emptor.