New laws for short -term rentals: chaos in the holiday apartment market!

New laws for short -term rentals: chaos in the holiday apartment market!

Mallorca, Spanien - In Spain, a regulation comes into force that will result in far -term rental changes. As of now, property owners have to obtain a licensing for renting their apartments to vacationers. You are also obliged to obtain a number of permits. These new laws aim to improve control and transparency in the holiday apartment business, while consumer protection minister Pablo Businduy emphasizes a strengthening of the rights of tenants and guests. According to orf.at , guests must provide extensive information, including their bank details. This data is transmitted to a national database to ensure more transparency.

The responsible ministry has found that many advertisements on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com have no license numbers, and it remains unclear whether the landlords are private or commercial. In particular, stricter guidelines apply, which also include the establishment of positions for consumer complaints. These measures are part of a more comprehensive plan to combat the real estate crisis in popular holiday destinations such as Mallorca, Barcelona and Madrid.

background to the real estate crisis

In the past ten years, rental prices in the Balearic Islands have increased by around 158 percent. In recent years, this has repeatedly led to protests against over -tourism and the effects of "rich foreigners". In April 2023, nationwide demonstrations were held against this housing shortage. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized that living space use should be a priority before tourist purposes. This is particularly relevant in view of the fact that around 27,000 properties were acquired by non-EU citizens to rent in 2023 alone.

Tourism in Spain has a boom, the number of international guests rose to 17.1 million in the first quarter of 2023. However, this development goes hand in hand with increasing pressure on the housing market. The expenditure of vacation guests has increased by 7.2 percent to 23.5 billion euros during this period, which contributes to the revival of the Spanish economy. Despite these positive numbers, experts criticize the lack of construction activity, which according to them is more repaired by the real estate crisis than tourism itself.

regulations in international comparison

The problem of short -term rental is not only an issue in Spain. In many European cities, including Lisbon, Amsterdam and Milan, demonstrations for affordable living space are the order of the day. Critics fear that platforms such as Airbnb continue to heat rental prices, which requires increased regulations and political measures. In many cities, such as Málaga, holiday apartments must already meet special requirements, while regulation varies greatly in other regions.

The EU is planning a regulation for short -term rents by May 2026, which provides for an extensive data collection by providers. Experts already notice that Airbnb and similar platforms can be identified less and less with the original concept of the sharing economy, since entire apartment blocks are often reserved for tourist purposes. Studies show that in Barcelona rental prices in areas with high Airbnb density have increased by up to 7%.

The discussion about the effects of the sharing economy on the housing market is also being intensively conducted in Germany. While some studies, such as an investigation by the Fraunhofer Institute, do not improve Airbnb on rental prices, others show that rents in Berlin increase due to short-term rentals. In view of these developments, new platforms such as Home Exchange and Fairbnb.Coop are becoming increasingly popular, which are more oriented towards community values.