Barcelona to ban all short-term rentals by 2029

Spanish city has announced plans to ban renting apartments to tourists from 2028 in a bid to reduce housing costs for residents

Barcelona has announced it will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028, an unexpectedly drastic move as it seeks to rein in soaring housing costs and make the city livable for residents.

Key takeaways

• The boom in short-term rentals in Barcelona, Spain’s most visited city by foreign tourists, meant some residents could not afford an apartment after rents rose 68% in the past 10 years and the cost of buying a house rose by 38%;
• National governments relish the economic benefits of tourism – Spain ranks among the top-three most visited countries in the world – but with local residents priced out in some places, gentrification and owner preference for lucrative tourist rentals are increasingly a hot topic across Europe;
• Local governments have announced restrictions on short-term rentals in places such as Spain’s Canary Islands, Lisbon and Berlin in the past decade.

Get the full story at The Guardian