Barcelona Spain Assails Unlicensed Apartment Rentals

Barcelona is an amazing and vibrant city that is definitely worth adding to your wanderlist! Its architecture spans over 2000 years and includes its renowned modernist buildings inspired by Antoni Gaudi. This fantastic architecture, combined with the charm of the city's trendy restaurants, narrow winding pedestrian streets, and the sunny Southern Spanish climate and beaches, makes Barcelona an excellent vacation destination.  Just be sure to consult a knowledgeable travel adviser who can help you to find a legitimate vacation accommodation that best suits your needs.

​The proliferation of illegal apartment rentals has forced the city of Barcelona to go after popular apartment rental sites like Airbnb and Homeaway for allowing unlicensed properties to be rented on their websites.  This is a matter of quality of life for the local citizens. Since landlords can earn five times as much renting to tourists rather than residents, sharp rent increases have driven residents out and the city center has become depopulated.  The Barcelona City Council considers this irresponsible

economically unsustainable,  & environmentally unfriendly tourism.

This past year the city shut down over 2000 apartments that were operating without a license.  Still in addition to the numerous quality hotels in Barcelona there are close to 10,000 licensed tourist apartments available.  

​Airbnb was fined $700,000 for offering illegal rentals which it has yet to pay to the city. Barcelona has issued no new licenses for tourist apartment rentals since 2014. Yet an illicit economy of illegal accommodations has cropped up as unsuspecting tourists are duped by fake or unlicensed listings on social media or vacation rental websites.