Imagine planning a holiday and not being able to check Airbnb or another online booking site for an apartment in which to spend a few days. Would a hotel do?
That’s the future confronting visitors to central Barcelona in four years. To safeguard and expand the housing supply for full-time residents, local authorities want to rid the city of the 10,000 apartments licensed as short-term rentals.
Barcelona City Hall announced last month that it would not renew any tourist apartment licenses after they expire in 2028. Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet said the city wants tourism, which accounts for 15% of the local economy, but must help residents cope with skyrocketing rents and real estate prices.
“Our housing emergency obligates us, forces us, to change the way we do things and to put the priority on housing above our policies for accommodating tourists,” Bonet told The Associated Press.
Property owners plan to fight the decision, arguing that eliminating short-term rentals would threaten their livelihoods and leave the city without enough temporary lodging: Some 2.5 million tourists stayed in an apartment last year, according to the Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona, also known as Apartur.
Residents of the city, which has a population of about 1.6 million, have campaigned against “overtourism” for several years, but the anti-tourism sentiment has grown more heated: During a protest in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas district this month, some participants shouted “Go home!” and squirted water pistols at people seated at outdoor tables.
Residential real estate prices in Barcelona have increased by an average of 38% over the past decade, a period in which the average rent soared by 68%, according to the municipal government. Like in other popular urban areas, many young people who grew up there struggle to afford a place of their own. Authorities say a lack of supply is partly to blame.
Other cities around the world also are struggling to reconcile the housing needs of year-round residents, the rights of landlords and the allure of the economic benefits that being a top tourist destination can bring.
Measures to limit the free-for-all of investors converting apartments into holiday…
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