Spain’s Consumer Rights Ministry has imposed a roughly €64 to €68 million (~$75 million) fine on Airbnb (ABNB) for advertising tens of thousands of unlicensed or improperly registered tourist rentals across Spain this week. Authorities classified the violations as serious consumer-protection infringements tied to listings that lacked required license numbers, used incorrect or mismatched license information, or also misrepresented the legal status of the residence.
Many of the problematic listings were already targeted in earlier enforcement waves, when Spain ordered the removal of more than 65K non-compliant tourist rentals from the platform and related them to housing affordability concerns in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.
The Spanish government and some city councils and regional authorities have been cracking down on tourism rentals that use sites such as Airbnb (ABNB) and Booking.com (BKNG) amid complaints about housing costs. Airbnb (ABNB) and other vacation rental sites are seen as limiting the supply of homes available to residents.
Notably, the fine on Airbnb (ABNB) is equivalent to six times the profit Airbnb gained from the illegal listings and is reported by Reuters to be the second largest the ministry has imposed for breaching consumer rights. Airbnb (ABNB) has the option to appeal the fine in court.