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Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs has told two online platforms to take down 8,318 adverts for tourist flats that are being passed off as seasonal rentals, saying they break the country’s new housing rules.

 

It all comes down to how long people can stay. Since October 8, a seasonal rental contract has to last at least 31 days, so anything shorter counts as tourist use. The ministry found listings labelled as seasonal lets that could be booked for less than 31 days, and it described them as illegal, as well as unfair and misleading advertising under the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users.

 

Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy’s department explained that once the platforms have been notified they become directly responsible for the listings, which means they could face disciplinary action if the adverts stay online.

 

Madrid accounts for most of the flagged listings, with 6,772 in the Community of Madrid and 6,523 of those in the capital itself.

 

The rules are part of an emergency housing decree. Seasonal rentals can now run for anything from 31 days to 12 months, and the owner has to show a reason for the let being temporary. If the limit is passed without a good reason, or more than two seasonal contracts in a row are signed, the rental is treated as the lease of a main home. Holiday rentals in tourist flats are capped at 30 nights.

 

The decree has been in force for two weeks but still has to be ratified. With Parliament dissolved ahead of the general election, the vote will take place in the Standing Committee, where the parties that backed the text the first time hold a majority, so it’s expected to get through.

 

It isn’t the first time the ministry has gone after rental listings. At the end of last year it fined Airbnb €64 million for offering thousands of illegal tourist flats, which led to more than 65,000 listings being removed, and Booking.com took down over 4,000 after being asked to.

 

The ministry has also fined Alquiler Seguro €3.6 million and opened an investigation into a large property company over what it called abusive practices.

 

 

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