Barcelona Bans Short-Term Rentals
Is it enough to address the city’s housing crisis?
In the past 10 years, rent prices in Barcelona have risen by 70 percent — pushing many residents out of the city in search of affordable housing. By comparison, the cost to purchase a residential property only increased 39 percent over the same period.
The culprit?
City leaders believe it’s a proliferation of dedicated vacation apartments listed on online platforms like Airbnb.
This year, the city government decided that Barcelona would not issue new licenses for short-term apartments or renew existing ones. This means that, by 2029, the city will have no short-term vacation apartments.
“More supply of housing is needed, and the measures we’re presenting today are to provide more supply so that the working middle class does not have to leave the city because they can’t afford housing,” Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said at a press conference announcing the change. “This measure will not change the situation from one day to the next. These problems take time. But with this measure, we are marking a turning point.”
The move is just the latest in a series of efforts by cities all over Europe to address their housing shortages as well as combat the effects of over-tourism.
