timeThe decision made headlines around the world, prompting surprise and the threat of billions of euros in lawsuits. But months after Barcelona officials announced plans to demolish the city’s tourist apartments by the end of 2028, the city’s mayor called it a “draconian” but much-needed move to rein in soaring housing costs.
“It’s very intense, but it has to be because the situation is very, very difficult,” Jaume Collboni said in his first interview with international media since the announcement in June. “In Barcelona, as in other big European cities, the first problem we face is housing.”
Rental prices in the city have soared 68% over the past decade, while the cost of buying a home has increased 38%. As some residents complained that housing prices were too high, Coboni began to focus on the 10,101 licenses issued by the city to rent accommodation to tourists through platforms such as Airbnb.
The Socialist mayor sees a relatively quick way to increase the number of homes in the city while reducing the 32 million tourists who flock to the city of 1.7 million people each year.
“In the model of mass tourism taking over city centres, we see two things fundamentally compromised: the right to housing, as housing is used for economic activity, and coexistence between neighbours, especially in areas with more tourists Apartment,” Coboni said.
The city has long tried to address the problem, setting limits on the number of tourist apartments. “Over the years, we’ve come to the conclusion that doing things halfway doesn’t work,” Coboni said. “It is very difficult to manage and ensure that there are no illegal rentals. To put it more simply and more clearly, there will be no more tourist apartments in Barcelona.
While some have criticized the measure as taking several years to take effect, Coboni traced the 2028 timeline to regional legislation that last year limited tourist apartment licenses in housing-starved areas to five years. It’s in this clause that officials in Barcelona see an opportunity: by 2028, when Barcelona’s current batch of licenses expires, the plan is not to renew any.
However, this idea has significant limitations. Coboni’s mayoral term ends in 2027, and the plan is likely to be scrapped if the election results in a change in city government. Regional legislation also allows property owners to request a one-time extension of up to five years if they can prove they have made a substantial investment in the property, although Coboni believes such cases make up only a “small proportion” of these.
Instead, he hopes the plan will see more than 10,000 properties return to the residential market, with the recently introduced rent caps and upcoming national register aimed at curbing short-term rentals ideally preventing them from becoming luxury apartments or month-to-month rentals. The city’s team of about 30 inspectors – who officials say detect more than 300 illegal tourist apartments each month – will add 10 positions in the coming months and will continue working at full capacity beyond 2028. Crack down on any illegal tourist apartments.
The June announcement came as a surprise to many in the city. “We don’t think he is that radical,” said Jaume Artigues of the Eixample Dreta neighborhood association, which represents a community that owns about 17 percent of the city’s legal tourist apartments. – Some 1,655 of these buildings weave through a central neighborhood known for its modernist architecture. “I think it’s a very, very brave measure because it’s going to be a tough legal battle against the economic interests of the industry.”
But Artigues is concerned about the slipping timeline, calling it an uncertain gamble in a city where housing has become an emergency. Albert Freixa from the Extension Housing Syndicate echoed the sentiment. “You can’t make any promises for 2028 because there’s an election then and you don’t even know if you’re going to be mayor,” Freixa said.
In September, Apartur, an organization representing management companies and 85% of legal tourist apartment owners in the province of Barcelona, announced plans to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for lost income and investment. The group described the city’s plans as a “secret expropriation” and suggested the demands could be as high as €3bn (£2.5bn).
The country’s Constitutional Court will also weigh in on the plan. In February, it agreed to hear a legal challenge from the conservative People’s Party, which argued that regional legislation overstepped its boundaries in regulating how private property could be used, among other issues.
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Coboni compared the controversy to someone trying to open a four-table restaurant in their home. “No one would do that. Because you have to meet health standards, you have to pay taxes, you have to have regular employees working there,” he said. “We say no, you can’t do whatever you want with your property. Apartments are for living; this is not a business.
Airbnb – believed to facilitate the majority of tourist apartments in the city – did not comment directly on Barcelona’s plans when contacted by the Guardian.
Instead, it called on the city to reconsider its approach to short-term rentals, arguing that the city’s housing and overtourism challenges have not eased despite the city’s attempts to limit tourist apartments. The report cited government data showing the number of vacant homes in the city significantly outnumbered the number of short-term rentals and argued that addressing the issue would make it more likely to increase the supply of affordable housing.
The showdown comes as tensions continue to run high in Barcelona’s tourism industry. This summer, some protesters sprayed tourists with water cannons, while others waved signs that read “Tourists Go Home” and “You Are Not Welcome,” some whose anger suddenly burst into public view.
Coboni said the situation that unfolded did not reflect the feelings of the majority of residents. “But it’s true that the city is uncomfortable with the feeling that we are losing part of the city,” he said, citing the example of La Rambla, a thoroughfare crowded with tourists and lined with souvenir shops. Devoured by mass tourism.
“Tourism must be limited to what the city can actually absorb,” Coboni said. “We cannot grow indefinitely at the expense of city residents.”
